


Means To An End

by Mililap



Category: Incredibles (Pixar Movies)
Genre: F/F, idk man i'm in too deep with these two
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-25
Updated: 2018-09-03
Packaged: 2019-06-16 02:49:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 105,148
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15427386
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mililap/pseuds/Mililap
Summary: Desperate times call for desperate measures. That’s something Helen Parr will learn the hard way as she sees herself forced to turn to her last resource, her former associate, to help her find those who she had lost, but she will have a price to pay, for nothing ever comes for free.And Evelyn Deavor’s price was far higher than she had thought.





	1. Are you riled up, already?

She was beginning to hate herself for it.

Each step she took, every time the sound of her footsteps echoed its’ way through the halls, returning to her as a reverberating, distorted copy, Helen felt her stomach twisting and turning, her mind screaming at her a thousand different things, each one of them antagonizing the one before, except for one thing they all had in common.

Each thought conjured up the image of a very annoying smirk that Helen had once appreciated, but now it plagued her mind like a poisonous virus, reminding her of just how _stupid_ she could be.

And she must be _really_ stupid, she thought, for there was no logical explanation to what she was attempting to do.

“This way,” Rick told Helen as they took a turn right, making them both navigate through a long corridor that had a grey door on its’ end.

They remained quiet for the rest of their walk, Helen being far too lost in her own, conflicting thoughts, the former government officer not bothering to warn her against what she was doing; judging by the look on her face, she already knew what she was getting into.

As they reached the final door, Rick halted and turned to look at her. “Helen,” He began, making her snap out of her own mind and look at him in a bit of surprise, for she didn’t expect him to talk. “I need you to be focused.”

Helen smirked at him, the expression something cocky on her face. “Please, Rick, I’ll be fine.” She said, shrugging him off. “It’s not like I’ll be facing a certain death in there.”

“No, you won’t, but you’ll be alone in there, meaning that anything could happen, really.”

Helen’s smirk turned into a smile. “I’ll be okay, I promise.”

So, with a small nod of his head, Rick opened the door behind him and allowed her in, closing it as she made her way into the other room.

Helen analyzed the room; it was split in two by a glass wall, which was at the same time divided into small cubicles, the only way to communicate to the other side being the small, black telephones that she could see on each of the boxes.

She frowned when she realized she could see no one else in the room with her. Then, she rolled her eyes, for she knew she’d probably find who she was looking for in the last cubicle, hiding away if only to mess with whoever was visiting.

And, of course, as she reached the last box, she saw the inmate she didn’t want to see, but _had to._

So Helen ignored her completely as she took a seat on her chair and picked up the phone, waiting for the other woman to look up from her nails and into her eyes.

And, when she did, Helen had to contain herself from lashing out at her.

Lazy eyes grew wide in a way the Super hadn’t seen before as Evelyn finally looked at her, recognizing who it was on the other side of the wall with a hollering laugh, brown eyes reading a very clear _you’ve got to be kidding me_ falling from the other woman’s lips.

Helen remained quiet, impatiently waiting for the other woman to pick up the phone, but the blue eyed woman was taking her sweet time; whether she was laughing at the whole situation or just at the Super sitting right in front of her, Helen didn’t know and, honestly, she didn’t want to know, either. It was taking all of her iron temple not to punch her right in the face.

Eventually, Evelyn’s laughter subsided enough for the woman to actually pick up the phone, wiping away a tear as she did so.

“Well, well, well…” The woman said, still fighting against some fits of laughter, her voice bringing many memories to the front of Helen’s mind. “What do we have here?” She asked, raising a brow while that wolfish smirk of hers appeared on her lips.

It made Helen want to scream.

So she focused very hard on the black phone against Evelyn’s ear, completely ignoring her face. “It’s good to see you, too.”

Evelyn huffed. “I didn’t have you for the ironic type, Elasti-“

“It’s Helen, actually.”

Evelyn raised her brows, her mouth forming a silent _oh._ Something dawned on her, then. “ _Helen.”_ She echoed, as if tasting the name on her mouth.

It made Helen sick.

Evelyn chuckled. “Tell me something, _Helen; how_ is it possible that _nobody_ questions why you look _so much_ like Elastigirl? Because, really, it’s as if you two were _the same person!”_

The Super glared at the woman in front of her, already getting tired of her behavior.

_Not more than five minutes in here with her and I can’t stand her anymore._

She didn’t know whether to laugh at the thought or scream because of it.

And then Helen’s glare turned into a frown. What was it with the woman in front of her that had her unsure of how to respond, of how to react?

It was unsettling, to say the least.

She hadn’t realized she was tuning Evelyn’s taunting out until she saw her move her hands to emphasize her words.

“…I mean, I hadn’t seen you without your mask before and, really, it doesn’t take a _genius_ to see the resemblance-“

“Are you done? Is your attempt to get me all riled up over?” She interrupted her, not finding it in herself to deal with it anymore.

Evelyn pretended to ponder her question as she balanced herself on the back legs of her chair, bringing her feet up to the small desk right in front of her. “Hm, I don’t know,” She looked at Helen, then, seriousness taking over her features. “I guess it depends; are you riled up already or should I keep going?” Her gaze moved from Helen’s eyes to her nails once more, as she inspected them thoroughly. “It’s not like you’ve got _a lot_ of activities and things to do when you’re in jail, but I guess I can definitely find something better to do with my time than…”

Evelyn quieted down as she looked up, feeling uncomfortable with the unnerving silence that deafened her, coming from the other end of the line.

It disturbed her to see Helen’s face contorted in such a fiery glare.

It seemed Helen didn’t notice her surprised look or, at least, didn’t care for it, for the glare didn’t budge a bit as she said, “I’ve been riled up for quite a while, now.” Between clenched teeth.

And something in Helen’s eyes told Evelyn that her anger wasn’t directed at just her and, whatever it was that made the woman in front of her glare like that, it had been burdening her for quite some time.

“Is that so?” Evelyn asked, a nasty smirk on her face as she attempted to poke at the wound. “And what could have Elasti-“ She cut herself off, covering her mouth for a moment with one of her hands in fake shock. “Oh, sorry! I meant _Helen,_ what could possibly have _Helen_ in such a-“

“I didn’t come here to humor you, Evelyn.”

And hearing her name coming out of the Super’s mouth felt so weird, so _out of place,_ for both of them.

It made the criminal frown, getting serious, if only for a moment. “Then why are you here?” She asked her, bringing her feet down to the ground and hunching over the desk, bringing her face close to the glass wall. “What could you possibly want from me that you don’t already have?” She narrowed her eyes. “To rub on my face how you caught me? How my plan backfired? How I ended up being more of help to the cause I wanted to destroy?”

Helen pointedly ignored the protruding cheekbones, the hollow look on those tired eyes. “Don’t you think if that was what I wanted to do, I would have come a lot sooner?” She asked her, raising a brow in question.

And the sickening smile Evelyn offered her was devoid of any joy, filled with malice and venom as she talked, “I’ve had quite a lot of time to think, trust me.”

And Helen almost mirrored that smile, her smirk nothing short of vicious as she said, “Yes, but perhaps _one year_ behind bars wasn’t _enough_ thinking time?”

Evelyn’s expression didn’t falter. “ _There_ it is.”

“What, exactly?”

“The self-serving side of you. I’m surprised it took you _this long_ to come and kick the woman when she’s already on the floor, but I’m guessing that’s because you have this idealization of righteousness and being nice to everyone and all those things Supers seem to get off to.”

 _She’s actually convinced I came for that?_ “Evelyn, I’m not here to laugh at you.” Helen said, frowning at the other woman. “I’m not as sick as you are.” She added in a mumble, the thought escaping her lips by accident.

It seemed the genius on the other side of the wall didn’t care about the comment. “Then I’ll ask you again; what could you possibly want from me that you don’t already have?”

Helen inhaled deeply, closing her eyes for a second if only to shut the other woman out for a moment, as she gathered what was left of her dignity, only to give it to this woman on a silver platter.

And what she said next had Evelyn looking at her with a confused frown on her face, for it was the last thing she expected to hear.

“I came to see you because I need your help.”

The former villain blinked once. Twice. Shook her head. Anything to try and process what the heroine had said. “What?”

Helen hadn’t opened her eyes yet. “You heard me.”

Evelyn laughed, shaking her head, trying to keep the lunatic smile from forming on her face. “Yes, but I need you to repeat that for me. _What_ did you just _say?”_

The Super opened her eyes and locked them on Evelyn’s as she repeated, between clenched teeth, “I need your help.” While focusing on ignoring the look of pure _joy_ the other woman had, for the villain was definitely enjoying the scene.

Evelyn chuckled, the cold sound making shivers run down Helen’s spine. “Right. Tell me something, then.” And that malicious smile grew wide as she asked, “What’s in for me? Because we both know I won’t help you just because you ask _so kindly_.”

“Your freedom.”

She certainly wasn’t expecting such answer thrown at her face like that. “My what, now?”

Helen pinched the bridge of her nose, trying not to lose what remained of her composure. “It’s not that hard to understand, woman. You help me and, in exchange, your criminal record is cleared; you’re free to roam the Earth and find a new way to ruin our lives. Doesn’t it sound _exciting_?”

Evelyn stared at the woman in front of her like she had just grown a second head. “You’re being serious.” She stated more than asked, watching Helen as she just held her stare. A short laugh escaped her lips as she ran her fingers through her hair, keeping it away from her face. “You’re being serious.” She said again, as if saying it repeatedly would make the whole idea of her being free make more sense. Then, she laughed, “You’re being se-“

She was cut off by the feeling of her back being pressed against the wall behind her, as the woman that had been sitting on the other side of the wall stretched herself enough to pass through to the other side, sliding herself underneath the glass, then pushing the other woman until she was trapped between concrete and flesh.

“Now you’ll listen to me,” Helen muttered right to Evelyn’s face, her forearm keeping the other woman still as she used it to push her against the wall, pressing it to her neck. “I’m _too_ tired to deal with your shit.” She growled, the curse word sounding too foreign on her voice. “You’ll have one day to think your answer to my proposal. Once time’s up, officer Rick Dicker will come and hear what you’ve got to say about it.”

They remained there for a beat, but then Helen realized she still had the other woman pressed against the wall and, becoming aware of her own actions, she immediately released her, dusting herself off, fixing the collar of her shirt as she did so, anything in order to ignore the other woman as she recollected her thoughts and cleared her throat, letting go of the energy that had just taken over her.

Evelyn remained silent, her hand going to where the other woman’s forearm had just been pressed, a look of astonishment on her face, for she never expected _Elastigirl,_ of all people, to explode like that.

“I’ll be waiting for an answer,” Helen said, still not looking at the other woman in the eye. “Don’t make me waste my time.” She added, not looking back as she made it to the other side once more and left, leaving the genius criminal on her own.

Evelyn wasn’t sure of how much time passed but, eventually, a prison guard opened the door to her side of the room and ordered her out.

The woman automatically obeyed him, no snarky remark coming out of her mouth, no nasty look sent his way, making the man shudder. Who had just visited the untamable woman? Who could possibly have such an impact on her, enough to make her _meek?_

He decided he didn’t want to know. Whoever had just seen her must be even more terrifying than _her._

As she walked back to her cell, the look of surprise slowly faded away from her face, leaving room for a frown of deep thought.

Her _freedom._ A fast forward to the day where she walks out of this hellhole.

 _No,_ she thought, _not just that,_ for it wasn’t _just_ freedom, but _complete erasure_ of her crimes. A new beginning, if one wanted to call it that way.

_But at what cost?_

The image of the woman who had just visited her reappeared in her mind’s eye.

Helping a Super.

She grimaced at the thought. It was going against her own principles, basically.

She didn’t even know what on Earth was so important that had Elastigirl asking _her,_ of all people, for help.

_It must be bad. Really bad._

She raised a brow as the image of Mr. Incredible appeared in her mind, too. Why was the woman asking her for help instead of relying on her husband?

Even better, how did he react to the idea of his wife allying with the one woman who tried to ruin it all up for them?

Well, for _them…_ It was a way of speaking. Evelyn knew way too well that he was a far worse case than _Elastigirl_ could ever be, being the man so desperate for fame, glory, attention. Her plan had been actually aimed at people more like _him,_ not _her._

_Pathetic._

Hours passed by as she thought about the deal she had been offered earlier, the day passing by in a blur.

Being released nine years earlier in exchange for helping Elastigirl save the day, probably.

The more she thought about it, the less rewarding it sounded.

Evelyn laid back on her bed, the silence of the night surrounding her, allowing her to zone out for a moment, diving into her own mind, analyzing her life, how it would change if she were to accept and how it would be, were she to decline.

Was her freedom payment enough for such a demand? After spending a year behind bars, she kind of got used to the life of an inmate. It made her question just how much would the freedom of _one_ felon mean. She was certain of a few things, though…

First, the World would keep spinning, no matter what she chose. This was not going to change anytime soon.

Second, whether she stayed in jail or not, she’d still be seen as a _criminal,_ when society’s real enemies ran around free, wearing stupid costumes and overstepping by abusing their own special abilities. This _could_ change, but she didn’t see it happening in the near future.

Lastly, no matter what she chose, the World wasn’t going to change for the better; no real change would happen. People weren’t going to grow out of their _screenslaved_ phase. Society would remain as passive as it had always been. That much she knew for she had tried —and failed —to change that.

_No, my freedom doesn’t mean that much. Not like it ever meant much, anyway._

She smirked as she thought of how she was more free than anybody else, even behind bars, for she was away from the mind-dulling screens.

_Not my problem, anymore._

So, feeling relieved in a way she couldn’t explain nor cared enough to do so, Evelyn fell asleep, already eager to refuse Elastigirl’s proposal right in front of her face.


	2. Didn't figure you as my type

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Evelyn proves she has nothing to lose, so Helen is forced to give her something to fight for.

“What do you mean, she won’t talk to you?”

“I’m telling you, Helen,” She heard Rick tell her from the other side of the line. “She refuses to speak to anybody who isn’t you.”

The Super glared at nothing, being completely aware of the sick dominance game the other woman wanted to play with her.

She had made her offer the day before, then left and called it a day. Having the house for herself, she didn’t know what to do with her time, what to do to occupy her mind and keep it away from the fact that-

“I’ll be there in a minute.” She muttered into the receiver, then hung up the phone, going to her room so as to get dressed, getting her black turtleneck and some pants on, preparing to face Evelyn.

Ignoring reality, if only for just a little bit more.

* * *

A prison guard was waiting for her at the entrance when she arrived at the facility.

“Walk with me,” she commanded him as she showed him the ID Rick had given her to authorize her entry, as they both made their way through the halls, the man leading them to a room different to the one she had been in the day before.

As they reached their destination, the Super could hear muffled talking going on behind the door. She couldn’t quite make out the words, but there were definitely two voices; a female voice and a male one, too.

And, judging by the tone, the man was tired of the woman. Defeated.

Helen opened the door to find Evelyn and Rick sitting one right in front of the other, a small table in between them; Rick was slumped over it, visually exhausted by the villain, while Evelyn was balancing herself on the back legs of her chair, much like she had done the day before, a smug smirk on her lips and her arms crossed in front of her.

Both of them looked at Helen as she walked in. “Okay, what’s this all about?”

“She refuses to tell me what’s going on, Helen.” Rick said, an implicit apology hiding behind his words. “She claims she’ll only speak to you.”

Helen approached him and laid a hand on his shoulder. “I can handle her, Rick, but thank you for trying, anyway.” She offered him an easy smile. “I know how hard that one can be.” She heard Evelyn chuckle and looked at her only to find her shaking her head. “And what are _you_ laughing about?”

Evelyn raised a brow, “Who, _me?_ ” She asked, pointing at herself in false surprise. “Oh, don’t mind me! Please, keep talking as if I weren’t in the room.”

“Cut the crap, Deavor,” Helen said, standing right next to the woman in question. “What did you decide?”

“Oh, right! That.” Evelyn said, then moved to stand up, taking her time doing so as she slowly stood and moved the chair away, coming face to face with Elastigirl herself.

_Helen,_ she thought, as a smirk formed on her face. _I’m face to face with_ Helen.

“I thought about your offer, _Helen.”_ She said, smiling at the name.

It took all of her patience and then some, to focus on not punching her nose right into her brain. “And what conclusion did you reach, _Evelyn?_ ”

“It’s Miss Deavor for you, actually.” She said, referencing what the auburn haired woman had said the day before.

A muscle feathered on Helen’s jaw as she clenched her teeth. “I’m not going to put up with your nonsense, _Miss Deavor,_ and I’m running out of patience.”

So, Evelyn smiled as she let out a simple, “No.”

Helen shook her head, unable to understand what she just heard, what it meant in terms of their conversation. “I’m sorry. What?”

Evelyn smirked. “I said no,” She repeated, drawling out each syllable. “There’s no deal.” She explained.

Helen watched as Evelyn pulled the chair back, taking a seat and reclining enough to place her feet on the table. Even Rick looked at the woman with shock written all over his face, surprise at the unexpected turn making him ask her, “What do you mean, _there’s no deal?”_

Evelyn rested her head on her hands, looking back at the officer with a raised brow. “I mean exactly what I’ve said; there’s _no_ deal.” She closed her eyes, sighing as she relaxed. “Thank you for the offer, anyway, folks.”

Rick stood up abruptly, slamming his hands against the desk, making the criminal crack an eye open to see him. “You can’t refuse!”

“Oh, I can’t, you say?” Evelyn questioned, bringing her feet down and hunching over the desk menacingly, looking at the man with defiance shining in her eyes. “Watch me do just that.”

“It’s the best deal you could ever get!”

And then Evelyn was standing up, too, mimicking what the man had done mere seconds ago, slamming both of her palms against the desk as she got to eye level with him. “It’s the best thing _you two_ could come up with, that’s all!”

“What’s better than your freedom, than the complete erasure of your criminal records?” Rick asked her, completely unable to understand the woman in front of him.

Evelyn scoffed. “You really think I care about getting out of here? Don’t you think I’d be out already if I actually wanted to?”

“Your brother-“

“My brother wanted me to do _at least_ part of my time in here, so that I’d learn the lesson _.”_ She cut him off, rolling her eyes at the last part of her sentence. “If I had whined enough, though, I’d be on house arrest, if not completely free.”

“But this is different-“

“No, it isn’t.” Evelyn stated, deadly venom dripping from her words. “I help the Superheroine with whatever _good deed_ she feels like doing and then, what? I’m released and that’s it! Everything stays _the same,”_ She let out as she dropped herself onto the chair unceremoniously, crossing her arms and looking away. “Forgive me if I don’t feel like letting myself be used like that.”

Rick didn’t know what to do as his eyes roamed from Evelyn to Helen, his desperation growing as he realized that the Super hadn’t been prepared to hear the villain decline her offer, for she was standing there, sight unfocused as she stared off into space.

He shook his head and looked at Evelyn, trying his luck again. “Think of all that’s at stake, Deavor.” He began, trying to reason with her. “Think of everything you may lose!”

But the ice cold look that Evelyn regarded him with said that he had gone in the wrong direction.

“What’s at stake… What I may lose…” She thought out loud, “But, really, what _is_ at stake, here?” She questioned, raising a brow at him. “You two want my help at _something_ I know nothing about in exchange of something as banal as getting me out of here, pretending I didn’t do what we all know I’ve done.”

Helen wasn’t really responding, so Rick decided to risk a bit of information, if only to try and get Evelyn to cooperate. “We need you to team up with Elastigirl in order to catch a rogue Super.”

“A rogue Super?” She scoffed. “Right. Finally, _one_ Super does whatever the Hell they feel like doing and you call them _rogue_ because they’re not as righteous as the rest of your freaks.” She glared at Rick. “ _These_ are the consequences of your choices and decisions; own them.” She laid back on her seat. “Besides, Elastigirl has her family of Supers to aid her with her cause, not to mention my brother and all of his _Super_ contacts.”

“It’s not that easy.” Rick ventured, trying not to give her too much information.

“Still, my answer is the same.” Evelyn sentenced, standing up and looking at Rick, then at Helen, who was still lost in her own thoughts. “I refuse to turn my back on my own beliefs. I’d rather do my time. Now, if you two will excuse me, it’s almost lunch time and I’m _starving,_ really.”

And with that, Evelyn walked away, going for the door, her hand almost at the handle, ready to open it and demand the guard take her back to her cell when-

“If you help me, I’ll help you make Supers illegal again, once and for all.”

She froze. Then, she turned, slowly.

“…What?”

Helen hadn’t turned to look at her. “You heard me.”

“Yes, I did, but I must have misheard you.”

“No,” Helen said with a shake of her head. She turned around, looking at Evelyn in the eye, “If you help me catch this guy, I’ll do whatever I must in order to make us illegal again.”

Evelyn frowned. “Anything, you say? No matter how twisted it is?”

Helen closed her eyes and let out a long exhale. “Look, _Miss Deavor,_ I don’t care if Elastigirl has to go from being a Superheroine to a Supervillain in the eyes of the public. I don’t even care if I have to turn into your mindless minion and tear this city apart with my bare hands; if that’s what it’ll take to make you help me catch this guy, then so be it. So, in response to your question, _yes,”_ She approached the other woman, standing right in front of her, “I’ll do _whatever_ it takes to fulfill your ultimate goal, no matter how twisted it is.”

Evelyn’s wolfish smirk slowly appeared on her face, but Helen felt far too determined to get on her good graces to let herself get angry at it. “Now _this_ is interesting,” She said as she remembered something they had shared, once. “Tell me something,” She begun, narrowing her eyes a bit. “Who’s trying to land a deal with me?” Evelyn said, adding the question that followed when she caught Helen’s look of confusion.

“Am I talking to the cynic or the believer?”

Helen sighed, the reference to that one time when they had been something alike _friends_ feeling like a slap on the face. “The cynic.” She stated, still looking into the other woman’s eyes with fiery determination, though her exhaustion started to crawl around the corners. “She’s the only one you’ll be talking to and working with.”

Evelyn raised her brows, slightly surprised at the Super’s words. Still, she didn’t question them, “Then this is a deal I can totally see myself getting into.”

And so the blue eyed woman offered the Super her hand.

Helen was about to shake it, then, “I’ll only help you _once_ we catch the rogue Super. _That’s_ the deal. You got it?”

Evelyn’s smirk was still present on her face. “As clear as water.”

So Helen took her hand and shook it, no hesitation left on her.

“That settles it, then.” They both heard Rick sentence as he moved from where he had been sitting.

“So, what now?” Evelyn asked curiously, unsure of how she was going to help Elastigirl. “How are going to do this?” She watched curiously as Helen began to take off her clothes and a nervous laugh escaped her throat. “What the _Hell_ are _you_ doing?”

Evelyn noticed with no short amount of annoyance that the auburn haired woman had her super suit underneath her civilian clothes. “Just follow my lead.” Helen commanded as she put her mask on. _Elastigirl_ looked at Rick, then. “You go first.”

Rick nodded and moved towards the door, picking up Helen’s stuff as he went, the two women moving away from it so as to let him go. The former government officer opened the door and looked around in the halls. “The coast is clear.” He stated, opening the door and motioning for both women to go.

Elastigirl nodded. “Great,” She said, then she placed a hand on Evelyn’s back. “Let’s go,” She gently pushed her forward, making the woman walk with her.

But, as the three of them walked through the halls, Evelyn started to feel uncomfortable. “What are you-“

“I can’t explain,” Elastigirl retorted, knowing exactly what the brilliant woman would ask. “You’ll have to wing it from what you can understand.” She cast a glance at her. “Just trust us.”

Evelyn looked ahead. “Difficult, with the getup.”

Elastigirl simply ignored her.

They reached the main hall and all of the guards posted there turned to look at them, surprise evident on their faces. Whether it was because of Elastigirl, of the criminal she was carrying with her, or both, nobody could really tell.

“Hey!” Elastigirl said out loud, making everyone look at her. “I demand to see this jail’s warden!”

Some guards looked at each other, unsure of what to do, whispering things to one another until one finally acknowledged the Superwoman. “Ma’am, we can’t really-“

“Do you know who she is?” Elastigirl asked him, gently motioning for him to look at Evelyn. “Do you have any idea of who you’ve got locked in here?!” She questioned, letting some of her anger seep into her words, if only to add the element of shock to her tone.

The guard looked into Evelyn’s eyes, the woman doing her best to guess _what_ face she should be pulling. “I don’t really-“

“ _This is Evelyn Deavor!”_ Elastigirl roared at him, making Rick bite his lip to avoid laughing, for he knew Helen was basically scolding him like she would do with her children. “The genius behind the Deavor’s World Class Telecommunications Company!” Elastigirl hit her forehead with her palm, then pinched the bridge of her nose. “You’ve got the _wrong_ person in here!”

“Wrong person?” Another guard questioned, approaching them. “Ma’am, last thing we knew about her, she was the Screenslaver!”

And Elastigirl then took the chance to actually look _offended._ “Are you calling me an idiot, mister?”

The guard’s eyes were wide open as he blushed and shook his head. “No, no! I just-“

“Well it surely _does_ sound like it, considering I’ve _worked_ with this woman!” Elastigirl said, annoyingly drumming her foot against the cold concrete floor, if only to emphasize her impatience. “And I _would_ be an idiot if I worked with a villain, wouldn’t I?”

“But, Miss-“

“I mean,” Elastigirl continued, “The other woman _ran away_ as soon as she realized who it was that she was visiting!” She said in fake shock, referring to her alter-ego.

The guards looked at her in confusion. “Why was she here in the first place?“

“She thought she was visiting her brother, the _actual Screenslaver,”_ Evelyn intervened, having sensed that Elastigirl hadn’t thought her lie _this_ much. “When she saw me, she recognized me and lost her damned mind.”

The guard frowned. “Lost her mind?”

Evelyn shrugged. “I can’t help the effect I have on some ladies, I guess.” She joked, smirking at him.

But he was having none of it as he moved dangerously close to her, grinding his teeth. “Listen, you sick-“

“No, _you’_ ll listen.” Evelyn spat back, letting her cool demeanor go, showing herself angry. “I’ve tried for _a whole year_ to get someone to hear me, to take me to see the warden so he can confirm my identity and release me.” She mimicked his expression. “I’ve been _locked up_ in here for a whole _year_ with no reason at all, because _you_ are all a bunch of inoperative assholes who are too lazy to go and catch the _real_ Screenslaver, preferring to punish some unlucky bitch instead.” Evelyn scoffed, then. “It took that woman a whole year to gather the courage to see her criminal brother and it took me a whole year _and_ her visit for someone to finally recognize me and call Dicker!” She huffed a laugh, allowing herself to really go with it. “I would have demanded for my brother to come and see me, but he probably thinks I’m dead already, so I demanded for Dicker to call my former partner instead, hoping to help you all avoid the _problem_ that my brother realizing where his little sister had been all along would mean.”

The man wasn’t really sure of how to react, but he tried to grasp onto what he believed to be true. “If you think I’ll fall for this shit, inmate-“

“Perhaps,” Elastigirl intervened, gently pushing him away from Evelyn, sensing his anger and deciding to put herself in the middle, if only to save the brunette from a beating. “She _should_ call her brother; don’t you think, Ev?”

The man then looked at her, his eyes widening as if he had forgotten of her presence, totally unaware of the surprised smile that the nickname had brought to Evelyn’s face. “Ma’am, I-“

“I think it would be in our best interests if she didn’t wreak havoc on us.” Another guard intervened, looking at them in fear.

Elastigirl smirked. “Great, then take us to the warden so that we can release Miss Deavor.”

“Right away, Ma’am!” The guard said as he nodded his head, “Follow me, please.” He commanded as he turned and the trio followed him, leaving a safe distance between them, if only because Evelyn seemed wary of whatever they planned to do.

“I don’t know how you plan to make the warden release me, to be honest.” Evelyn muttered to her escort, making the Superwoman look at her out of the corner of her eye.

“It will be easy, considering you’re not in the prison’s system.” Elastigirl confessed.

Evelyn almost stopped walking, but the firm hand on her back pressed her forwards. “What?” She whispered angrily.

“We’ll talk about this later,” Elastigirl cut it out. “Great improvising, by the way,” She added, trying to ease the mood. “I didn’t remember you to be such a great liar.”

“I’m a failed actress and I live for drama,” Evelyn joked, but the anger was still there. “Don’t think you’ll dodge this one, woman.”

Elastigirl’s eyes narrowed a bit, one eyebrow going up. “I never thought I could.”

They reached the warden’s office and the guard opened the door for them, allowing them in and closing it as soon as they were through it.

The three of them stared at the man who was sitting at his desk right in front of them; a tall, bald man with a moustache growing on his face.

The warden stood up, frowning in confusion at the three of them. “What’s the meaning of this?”

“Good morning, sir.” Rick began, offering the bald man his hand, which the warden took and gave a firm shake. “I’m former government officer, Rick Dicker.”

“Mister Dicker, I’m warden Jefferson. I’ve heard about you.”

Dicker nodded his head once. “I’ve been called by my two fellows over here,” He said, pointing with his hand at the Superheroine and her villain, both looking annoyed by the situation. “Because we’ve realized there’s been a mistake your prison’s system.”

Jefferson narrowed his eyes at Evelyn, but motioned for them all to take a seat, “Which mistake?”

The trio sat down as Rick continued doing the talking. “The woman we have with us over here is none other than Miss Evelyn Deavor, the co-director of DevTech, the Deavor siblings’ company.”

The warden made a face, as if impressed by the inmate’s resume. “Interesting.” He then looked at Rick with a raised brow. “So?”

“So, you’ve incarcerated the wrong person.”

The warden shook his head, smiling a bit. “How could that be?”

“Miss Evelyn Deavor has been incarcerated because of the popular belief that she’s the so called Screenslaver,” Rick said in his no-nonsense tone. “Truth is, she’s actually innocent, her imprisoning being some terrible, terrible mistake.” Rick shrugged. “She simply happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, your boys mistaking her for the villain and taking her in instead of him.”

The warden looked from Rick to Evelyn. “Is that true?”

Evelyn nodded. “It’s easy to see how you could make such a mistake, really; seeing as he’s so good with technology and I’m the actual brains of my family’s company, one could see the… technological resemblance, the similarities in terms of intelligence.” She tried, her expertise in bullshitting her way out of trouble coming in handy. “But really, let’s be honest; the guy’s probably sunbathing under some tropical beach’s sun, drinking mimosas, laughing at how he played you all and, therefore, played _me,_ too.” She said with a matter-of-fact voice, trying not to laugh at how she saw Rick nod enthusiastically out of the corner of her eye.

_The idea of mimosas by the beach seems to resonate with him._

The warden looked at her, weighing her words inside his mind. Before saying another word, he looked for her name in the prison’s inmate system… And he found nothing. “You’re actually right, you’re not up in the system.” Evelyn raised a brow, a knowing look in her eye. The warden shook his head, “But then, why are you here…?”

“Try looking for _Screenslaver._ ” Elastigirl intervened, watching the warden as he entered the villainous alter-ego’s name.

An inmate’s information sheet popped up and he nodded, looking at Elastigirl with surprise. “That actually worked.” He looked at his screen again, “It’s her picture, but it’s filed under the names _Screenslaver_ and…” He narrowed his eyes, frowning. “ _Evil Endeavor.”_

Elastigirl and Evelyn did their best not to react, the Super trying not to laugh and the villain trying not to groan. That name was _definitely_ Winston’s fault.

Rick, on the other hand, was _hysterical._

“Evil Endeavor?” He asked in between fits of laughter. “Now _that’s_ an embarrassing mistake.”

Evelyn looked at him. “I’m not laughing.”

Rick tried to calm down, but it was proving to be an impossible task. “Of course you’re not.”

The woman sighed. “Look, warden Jefferson.” She began, using a condescending tone. “It seems this was all some big mistake.”

The man looked actually ashamed of the whole situation. “It surely is.”

Evelyn nodded, “Considering this was _just_ a mistake and knowing full well that you _don’t_ want me to let my brother hear about this, for he’d be _really pissed,”_ She eyed the man in front of him, watching as he gulped, totally buying the Evil Winston image she had just conjured up. “I believe we can come to an agreement that would leave both parts unharmed. Don’t you think?”

The man nodded enthusiastically.

Evelyn smiled. “Good.”

It didn’t take too long for the warden to authorize her release, claiming the woman had no crimes to answer for, let alone do time for, letting the guards know that she had nothing to do with the Screenslaver, implicitly telling them that the real criminal was, therefore, out and about.

“I firmly believe he’s on that tropical beach, warden, laughing at all of us.” Evelyn joked as she finished zipping up her attire, the same one she had been wearing when she was caught. “But feel free to try and prove me wrong by looking for him in the city.”

The warden didn’t know how to respond, so he simply nodded. “Thanks, I guess, Miss Deavor.”

“Don’t worry about it,” She said, offering him a tight lipped smile. “My brother won’t hear about this.”

And with such promise, Evelyn, Elastigirl and Dicker walked out of the prison.

And Evelyn stopped keeping up with her gentle façade.

As soon as he saw her change her expression, revealing her true nature, Rick cleared his throat. “Well, that’s all I could do for you, Elastigirl.” He said, patting her on the shoulder as they walked. “Now, if you two excuse me, I’ll be trying to get to Screenslaver’s holiday island, for I was _retired,_ I’ll have you remember.” He let out with no real bite to his words, walking to his car and leaving the Superheroine and her villain to their own devices.

Elastigirl caught the sight of Evelyn’s ready-to-call-you-out-on-your-bullshit face and stopped her before she could even get started, bringing a hand up in the air, halting the woman. “Whatever you’ve got to say, leave it for the car trip.” She ordered, pointing then at the red Incredimobile as it pulled up, ready to pick them both up.

Elastigirl got into the car’s driver’s seat, allowing herself to take off her mask as the tinted glasses protected her identity from any prying eyes, trying not to flinch as Evelyn got in the other front seat, closing the door with as much strength as she could muster.

“So, let’s go back a little bit,” Evelyn said closing her eyes for a moment as she thought. “If I recall correctly, which I know I do, you said something about me not being in the prison’s system.”

Helen looked at her with a questioning look. “Did you really think that your brother would let the whole Screenslaver farce have a real impact or consequence in your life?” She then looked ahead again as she began driving, turning off the auto-pilot, totally aware of how the other woman was studying her. “Sure, he wanted you to learn the lesson, so he allowed for you to be thrown in jail, but he paid a lot of money to ensure your name wouldn’t be stained by your wrongdoings.”

Evelyn shook her head in disbelief. “I…”

Helen went on, explaining what the woman seemed to have a hard time understanding. “Now the government’s considerably richer, in exchange for pretending none of it ever happened, destroying whatever evidence there was left, along with your criminal files, leaving your name completely clean.”

“But the prison’s system-“

“The system had been hacked by someone half as good as you who changed your name for what seems to be a terrible pun created by your brother.” Then Helen nodded as she said, “He’s also rich, now, by the way.”

“And you already knew this?”

“Of course we did. Sure, it took as a bit of time to find out about it all, but Dicker and I finally got around it.”

“So you were trying to get me to bargain with something that was _already_ on my power.” Evelyn stated, venom dripping from her voice. “I didn’t figure you to be the sly type, Elasti _bitch.”_

“It’s Helen, actually,” The auburn haired woman said once more, uncaring for the insult, as if the mask was the one item that determined who she was at each moment. “And _yes,_ I wanted to play you for all that you had but you were, once again, smarter than I was.” She admitted in a bored tone. Then, realizing that had not been exactly what had happened, she added, “Well, actually, you were just way less eager to be free than I thought.” She looked at Evelyn with a shocked expression. “Didn’t figure you to be such a masochist.”

“Told you once before; we don’t know each other.” Evelyn responded, laying back on her seat, somewhat proud of her accidental victory over the Super’s failed plan to get her to cooperate.

Completely unaware of how her words had just affected the redhead, her demeanor becoming crestfallen as they echoed inside her mind, the implication behind them stabbing her in the chest like it had been doing ever since the first time she actually thought about them. “Yeah, we don’t know each other.”

And something in the way she said it made Evelyn frown. The Deavor sister looked at Helen out of the corner of her eye, slightly disturbed by the weight in the Super’s tone.

Still, she did nothing about it. What could she possibly do, anyway?

So the rest of the trip was quiet as Evelyn looked out through her window, Helen choosing to focus on driving, even if it was something totally avoidable, given the car’s auto-pilot function.

She was about to wonder out loud where the Super was taking her, considering this wasn’t the way to her company’s tower, when she saw the house her brother and her had given away to the Parr family for them to live in.

“What are we doing here?” She asked Helen, slightly confused at the choice, a thousand questions popping up in her mind, one escaping her mouth before she found it in herself to control it. “Are you really going to waltz in there with me, kids and husband ready to kick my ass into oblivion?”

Evelyn noticed how a muscle in Helen’s jaw feathered as she clenched her teeth, clearly uncomfortable by her question, but said nothing about it. “The house is empty, for now. I thought it would be a wise idea to stay at my place while we work together, in order to stay away from prying eyes.”

Evelyn smirked. “ _Your_ place.”

“Your brother’s place.”

“Actually, _my_ place.” Evelyn simply stated, earning a curious glance from the woman. She looked at her and shrugged. “This one was my favorite house of the ones we owned, so I asked my brother if I could have it all for me.”

“And you just gave it away to us?”

Evelyn nodded. “Can’t say it was an easy choice, but yeah, that’s what happened, basically.”

Again, the Deavor sister made Helen want to scream.

Without uttering another word, the Super parked the car in the garage. “We’re here,” She said, an order to get out of the car implied in her words.

Evelyn caught it. “You don’t say,” she mumbled lowly, not letting the woman hear her sarcastic remark.

Evelyn followed Helen into the house as the auburn haired woman opened the main door, letting the barely shorter woman go in first. As they entered the living room, Helen couldn’t help but watch as the blue eyed woman walked around as if she owned the place, an authoritative energy coming out of her.

Helen bit the inside of her cheek as she remembered with no short amount of annoyance that she _did,_ in fact, own the place.

“I find it hard to believe this was your house, you know?” Helen mused, shrugging as Evelyn cast a curious glance her way. “Something about you being kind with us just because of the sake of being it doesn’t go well with the fact of what you did to us.”

_To me. What you did to me._

Evelyn smirked as she reached the main panel of the house, looking at it with familiarity shining in her eyes. Without looking at the other woman, she pressed her palm against it, the console coming to life with her touch, things moving in the living room from one place to the other as several walls turned to display their other side, which was filled with sketches, ideas, blueprints, inventions… anything that could possibly come out of the inventor’s head and, knowing her a bit, one could tell her creative mind knew no limits.

“Still not sure of my word?” Evelyn asked her as she watched the fireplace’s section turn, leaving a big, messy desk behind instead of it.

Helen watched as the living room transformed into some kind of laboratory or, perhaps more adequate to the woman in question, as it transformed into some kind of technological headquarters, with screens and gadgets here and there.

And she would have said something, but a robotic voice cut her off.

“ _Identification, please.”_ Helen heard the _house_ say as she flinched, having not expected it.

“Evelyn Deavor.” The brunette said in a clear voice to the control panel in front of her.

As her eyes wandered back to the Super she was forced to work with, she noticed a bright, red light pointing straight at Helen’s forehead, the auburn haired woman shifting on her feet as she became aware of it and her mind raced, trying to conjure up the best way to proceed.

“And guest.” She quickly added, then, her brows slightly raised in surprise, for she had forgotten about her security system.

And immediately, the laser that had been aimed at Helen moved away from her, leaving her unharmed.

The woman let out a breath she didn’t know she had been holding. “That was _oddly_ familiar.”

_A déjà vu of sorts._

“Sorry about that,” Evelyn apologized, though she didn’t look sorry. She made her way downstairs, back to Helen, taking the panel’s control remote with her. “I didn’t remember I had set that up before leaving the house.”

Helen looked at her, curiously. “Did you set it up before giving us the house?”

“Not exactly,” Evelyn said as she inspected the control. “I added the security system long before you came into the picture, just in case anybody broke in and _actually_ figured out how to operate the control panel.” She shrugged sheepishly. “I wanted to keep my babies safe,” She offered as an explanation, then she eyed the remote with a frown. “Though it seems _someone_ broke this.”

And the name escaped her lips before she could actually stop it.

“Dash,” Helen said absentmindedly, a painful sting piercing her heart at the sound of her son’s name.

“Your kid did this?” Evelyn asked as she inspected the remote. “Hm, guess he’s not savvy with tech, then. It’s a very user-friendly approach the one this device offers.” She shrugged, unaware of how Helen slowly walked away from her, lost in her own thoughts. “I’ll fix it in no time, though.” She thought out loud, then looked up at the Super. “And, hey, this all begs the question; where’s your family? I mean, surely, going bad-guy-catching with the husband and kids probably sounds like a far better plan than working with your nemesis, so-“

“They’re unavailable at the moment.” Helen cut her ranting off, not ready to deal with it.

Evelyn eyed her, warily. “Okay...” she said, aware of the monotone the Super used, so unlike her usual, rather bubbly self. “So…” She began as she made her way towards Helen, feeling as if she were walking on eggshells, for some reason. “That takes me to my _other_ question; what’s up with this _rogue_ Super? Who are we looking for-“

“Can you shut up for a moment?” Helen snapped, raising her voice and turning to look at the other woman. “Stop it with the questions, you’re making me _insane-“_

“How the Hell do you want me to help you if I don’t have a clue about what’s going on, _woman?_ ” Evelyn asked her, interrupting her just as she had done before. “I know I’m a genius but even _I_ need a little bit of context here. I find it too strange that _no one else_ is here with us; neither my brother nor your family-“

“ _Stop talking about my family!”_ Helen roared at her, making the other woman flinch. “You say one more thing about them and I’ll-“

“You’ll _what?”_

And it wasn’t the deadly, low tone Evelyn used. It wasn’t even the menacing body language.

It was her eyes. The fire hiding behind the ice-cold blue in them.

It was all it took to make Helen quiet. A heated look from the icy woman.

“I was thrown in jail for a whole year with no visits from my brother, the only visitor I ever had being the one reason why I ended up in there to begin with, then I got out under the promise that I’d help _the one reason I was locked up_ with some ridiculous mission that raises _at least_ thirteen different questions that I require answers for in order to know _how_ to proceed and aid the cause.” The shorter woman said in that low tone she had used before, their height difference being minimal, but the anger that dripped from her voice being enough to make her look bigger.

The combination of her voice and that deadly glare made Helen swallow a lump that had formed around her throat, stunned into silence at the unexpected outburst.

Evelyn continued. “I don’t know what’s got your knockers up in a twist, but suck it up and keep it together, _Helen,_ ” She spat her name as if it was poisonous. “Because I can’t be of any help to you if you don’t open up and cooperate with me,”

And, as she spoke, her voice slowly began to raise.

“And I may have been the issue some time ago, but I’m old news and definitely _not_ the reason why you’re so worked up now, so go punch a pillow, go bang your head against a wall, _whatever, I don’t care,_ but keep me out of it, for I had _nothing to do with it_!”

The inventor breathed in, then out, closing her eyes for a second, trying to calm down enough to slip into that cool demeanor of hers once more.

But when she opened her eyes, she came face to face with the other woman, a hurt look in her eyes, though she tried her best to hide it.

“How can you be so sure of that?”

And Evelyn could only stare at her as Helen turned and left, going into her bedroom and closing the door with a loud bang.

The inventor was left alone to her own devices, a sigh escaping her lips as she turned and inspected her former lab, checking what she had left behind when she moved out.

She moved towards her desk and took her shoes off on her way, pulling her chair from underneath it and sitting there, bringing her feet up and tucking them underneath herself, though her mind could only repeat Helen’s words in a constant loop, one that had her frowning.

Because, really, even if she didn’t want to give her credit, she had to admit that the Superwoman was right.

She couldn’t be sure.


	3. That explains a lot of things

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Discoveries are made on both sides. Neither takes them too well.

Helen wasn’t aware of how much time had passed.

She didn’t know when she had started crying, either. Nor when she had stopped.

The only thing she knew, apart from the fact that it was nighttime, already, was that she actually needed that. She needed to be pushed to her limit.

_Guess I’ve got to thank her, now._

She got up from her bed and dragged herself to the bathroom. A quick inspection of herself in the mirror had her immediately turning on the shower, getting rid of her clothes —Supersuit included —and jumping under the hot water.

Helen allowed the scalding water to ease the tension on her back, the steam to keep her away from her clouded mind.

The only thing it couldn’t keep her away from, though, was the genius that she had left unsupervised in her own home.

 _No,_ she reminded herself, _it’s_ her _home. She’s made that clear, already._

She sighed as the image of Evelyn Deavor popped up in her mind, as she compared the woman who she had seen in jail to the woman who had helped her make Supers legal again. She felt like they weren’t the same, for that smirk looked so cunning in one’s face and so gentle in the other’s, the lazy gaze being pleasantly warm in the former version of her and rather wicked in the other one.

But no, she had to remind herself that they were the same. The only thing that had changed was her perception of her.

_It’s the same woman, under different lighting._

_And if I managed to work so well with her once, I might as well do it again._

So Helen Parr steeled herself, allowing the pep talk that her dearest friend had once given her to echo inside her skull, filling her with the determination she needed to face the former villain.

  _You are Elastigirl._

She got out of the shower and quickly dried herself up.

_Pull yourself together._

She put a pair of jeans and a white shirt on.

_You will remind her who you are._

She moved towards the door, exhaling deeply, if only to keep her nerves in check.

_Go, confront the problem, fight, win._

With a small nod of her head, as if agreeing with her inner Edna Mode’s advice, she opened the door.

She was surprised to find Evelyn sitting at her desk, properly, for once, tinkering with the house’s remote control, a frown of concentration on her face as her fingers dexterously inspected the device, which had been connected to a computer in which Evelyn would type something from time to time, her eyes going back and forth between the screen and the remote, her fingers jumping from the small object to the keyboard, the focused look never leaving her face. Even the change of clothes was unexpected, for the inventor was wearing a striped shirt, her sleeves rolled up to her elbows, and some black pants, nothing on her feet as she seemed to prefer being barefooted.

She wasn’t _that_ surprised to find a glass of whiskey to her side, though she wondered where the woman got it from, considering there was no alcohol in her house.

At least, not that she knew of.

She didn’t dare approach the brunette as the Deavor sister unplugged the device and pressed a button on the control remote, the house coming back to life.

“ _Identification, please.”_

“Helen Parr.” Evelyn said out loud to the remote, propping her feet up on her chair, spinning it idly and laying her head on her knee while she eyed the device on her hand.

“ _Error; voice recognition program identifies user as Evelyn Deavor.”_

“Yes, this is Evelyn Deavor incorporating a new user, Helen Parr, into the database.”

“ _Search for Helen Parr in the facility’s log?”_

Helen watched as Evelyn spinned on her chair, facing the computer once more and pressing Enter. “Yes,” She commanded, abandoning the remote on her desk and ignoring the _Searching…_ that echoed throughout the house as she picked up her glass and took a large swig, tasting the liquid in her mouth with a content look on her face before swallowing it down.

And as the house’s AI kept searching for the Superwoman in its’ system, Evelyn accidentally looked in the auburn haired woman’s direction.

And, as blue eyes locked with brown ones, Helen’s newfound resolve trembled.

_“Search completed; Helen Parr, authorized and incorporated into the database.”_

“Good,” Evelyn responded absentmindedly, somewhat used to talking to her inventions as if they could actually hold up a conversation with her.

She spun on her chair, fully facing the woman in question as she cradled her glass with both hands, one of her fingers going for its’ rim and tracing it, carefully.

Evelyn watched Helen as the woman exhaled slowly, as if gathering her thoughts, then moved towards her, a different body language to the one she had been using before; there was a certain undertone of confidence, now, though the criminal could see past the thinly veiled façade; the Super wasn’t _that_ much better.

“What’s all of this about?” Helen asked her, genuine curiosity evident in her voice.

“I wasn’t lying when I said I had forgotten about the security procedures that protected this house.” Evelyn said, looking at Helen, up and down, “Since we’ll be working together, I figured I might as well authorize your stay, considering it would be counterproductive to have you dead before we can fulfill our deal.”

“Hm,” Helen said, nodding slowly. “Seems logical.” She said, as if she didn’t think much about it, though it made her understand Evelyn Deavor even less than before, making her desire to rip her hair out come back and strike her like a whiplash. Her eyes wandered to Evelyn’s hands. “And that?”

Evelyn smirked. “While you were busy giving me the cold shoulder, I walked around the house, seeing what’s new and what remained from when I lived here. I even found some of my clothes.” She said, gesturing to herself. Then, she slowly brought up the glass to her lips, that ever-present smirk growing a bit with mischief. “I was happy to discover you hadn’t found the cellar.” She added, emphasizing her words by taking another gulp, allowing herself to enjoy it as much as she had done with the one before.

Helen frowned. “Wait,” She said, trying to make sense of the other woman’s words. “You mean to tell me you have a stash full of alcohol somewhere in here, but your lab was basically at anyone’s reach, in the _living room?_ ”

Evelyn shrugged, not looking sorry at all, “I’m a woman who likes to keep her priorities in order.”

Helen stared at her for a long minute, before deciding to leave the subject alone and moving towards the couch, which was still on the living room, thankfully.

As Helen took a seat, her eyes never straying too far away from the woman who kept her company, for she didn’t trust her enough, silence stretched over the two of them, filled with the tension both emanated, since they wanted to acknowledge what had been going on, but neither knew where to begin.

Evelyn opened her mouth.

“Listen, I-“

 “You were right.”

Evelyn frowned, then looked at the Super, who was staring back with no anger coating her features.

“If we want to carry on with this deal of ours, we’ll have to cooperate and, if I want you to help me, I will need to open up about certain things.”

Evelyn remained quiet as she bent over, placing her feet on the ground and laying her forearms on her knees, glass still between her hands, and watched the auburn haired woman struggle, trying to force the truth she had been hiding to come out of her mouth.

“My family’s gone AWOL; neither Bob nor the kids are trackable, it’s like they’ve disappeared into thin air.”

Evelyn’s brows rose a bit at the information being offered by the suffering Super. “And you know _nothing_ about their whereabouts?” She asked her and, as she watched Helen nod, she added, “How’s that possible?”

“I don’t know,” Helen said, frustration evident in her tone. “All I know is that a month ago, we were trying to catch this small mafia-like group and, at some point, Bob and I got separated from the kids.” She clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth. “We all split up; I had a hard time finding Bob, let alone the kids.” She sighed, her shoulders slumping in defeat. “We were unable to find them again, after that.”

“And Mr. Incredible?” Evelyn asked, the name _Robert_ feeling too foreign for her to use.

“We guessed it had to do with some rogue Super; Dash and Vi are strong enough to face common criminals.” She laid back against the backrest, that same defeated look from before reappearing on her face. “Bob and I were desperate after that. He wanted to go out and look for the kids but I told him it was far too dangerous, because we didn’t know what this guy was capable of. I told him we needed help and he didn’t take it too well. We argued, it was bad.” She closed her eyes, laying her head back. “Eventually, he left, shouting at me how he’d find the guy and make him pay. He’s been missing ever since.”

As Helen went through everything that had happened, she hunched over, mirroring Evelyn’s posture. “I decided on asking Winston for help, but then I found out more and more Supers were missing and decided against it.”

“How so?”

“Voyd told me.” Helen quickly responded. “She told me she had noticed He-lectrix had gone AWOL, too, along with Brick and Krushauer.” She frowned, worry evident on her face. “She tried to reach out to your brother, telling him we needed help to re-locate the Supers, but he wasn’t very willing to cooperate.”

It didn’t match the Winston Evelyn knew and, despite everything, loved. “How come?”

Helen looked away, looking at anything but the woman across her. “Voyd told him you were the only one capable of giving us a hand.”

Evelyn raised her brows, surprised that not only Elastigirl but Voyd had thought of her, too. “Oh.”

“Winston shot down the idea as quickly as he could, claiming that it wasn’t sensible to put you in such a position again, considering all that’s happened.”

Evelyn pondered her words for a brief second. “And he’s right.” She confessed, earning a surprised look from the other woman. “I agreed to help you only because you’ll help me outlaw Supers afterwards, didn’t I?” She explained, making a hesitating Helen nod.

“And that’s why I didn’t reach out to you through your brother,” Helen explained. “I knew he wasn’t willing to take any risks and I also knew I was willing to throw everything overboard if necessary.”

“So you located me with Dicker’s help.”

Helen nodded “He owed me one last favor, so we searched every prison in the country for the name Evelyn Deavor. When we didn’t find it, we searched for Screenslaver.” A chuckle escaped Helen, “When I saw you filed under that ridiculous name, I knew your brother had something to do with it. We discovered he had kept your identity secret and yourself safe from any real repercussions and we took advantage of it before anyone could notice.”

Helen was kind of surprised at the sight of Evelyn’s frown vanishing, leaving room for a look of relief on her face. “That actually explains a lot of things.”

“Like what?”

“Like why Winston never visited me.” Evelyn said, laying back on her chair and taking a small sip from her drink before continuing, “We would write letters to each other and I’d always question why he’d never drop by, so when he answered by being evasive, I’d just get angry and lash out at him.” She chuckled as she absentmindedly toyed with her glass. “I stopped writing back, at some point. I was too angry at him for not visiting me, but too tired to care enough to keep demanding answers.”

Helen chuckled. “Your brother’s too persevering, so I don’t think you would have gotten something out of him.”

Evelyn laughed, shaking her head. “Exactly what I had thought the last time I wrote.” She smirked, remembering the last letter she had written for him. “I remember breaking my pencil in half and flushing it down the toilet to keep myself from attempting it ever again.”

As their laughter died down, silence ruled over them again, broken once more by the Super.

“He stayed away just to make sure he’d be able to get you out of there someday; if he had visited you, it would have confirmed your identity.”

Evelyn nodded. “Too bad someone beat him to it, isn’t it?”

Helen’s brows reached her hairline. “One thing’s for sure; he’ll be quite surprised when he finally tries to release you and realizes someone’s already done it.”

“And how do you plan to explain yourself to him once that happens?”

“I’ll just wing it.”

Evelyn huffed a laugh. “Didn’t expect you to be the bullshitting-my-way-through-life type.” She smirked as she brought the glass to her lips, “Thought I was the only one like that, between us.” She confessed, finishing the contents of her glass and leaving it on her desk.

“Then I guess we have more in common than we thought, Miss Deavor.” Helen commented, a smirk uncannily alike Evelyn’s on her lips.

“Hm,” Evelyn contemplated what the Super said, until a nasty part of her decided to come out to play, testing something she had seen in the car, hours ago. “I still stand by what I’ve said _twice_ before, though.” She said, preparing the ground for her little, social experiment.

Helen didn’t catch that. “What?”

“We don’t know each other.”

And the change on her demeanor was automatic, Evelyn noticed with concealed interest as Helen stood up, her relaxed expression turning into one perturbingly neutral, though her eyes were rather dull.

The Super moved towards Evelyn’s desk and inspected her work as she pressed her hands to the desk. It didn’t matter that she couldn’t understand a thing written on the blueprints, the equations being far too advanced for anyone but the inventor to her side; Evelyn studied that serious expression, so alike and at the same time so different to the one she had been sporting just moments ago.

“We need to get down to business,” Helen said, her voice as dull as her eyes, still not glancing at the woman to her side.

“Woah, slow down, _darling,_ ” Evelyn said, not quite expecting her to go that way. “I still don’t know a thing about the rogue Super.”

Helen looked at her over her shoulder, pointedly ignoring the pet name. “Didn’t think you’d need to know anything else. Aren’t you some brilliant, capable-of-anything genius?”

“Okay, _enough._ ” Evelyn said, the annoyance she felt slipping into her own words as she stood up, using her full height to look down at the other woman.

And she was ready to lash out at her, ready to spit something to that face of hers, but…

Evelyn sighed, breaking eye contact as she allowed herself to fall back down on her chair. “This is not going to work.”

Helen sighed, too, as she turned and laid her backside against the desk. “The one thing we can both agree on happens to be your opinion on this plan of ours.” She rolled her eyes, annoyed at the whole situation. “Great.”

“You know what’s the funny part? We don’t even have a plan.”

And Helen groaned at that. It brought laughter to Evelyn’s eyes.

And silence stretched again. It was hard for _both_ of them, to start admitting where they had made mistakes and the other had been right.

“I don’t know what kind of powers this Super has.”

Evelyn’s eyes moved from her hands, which had been idly toying with her own fingers, to Helen’s face.

“Whoever meets them, disappears.”

“So I’m just stating the obvious if I say that you’ve never seen them?” A nod. “Hm.”

And then, silence again.

Helen watched the genius sitting to her side and, careful so as not to disturb her, she moved towards the couch again and took a seat, still keeping her eyes on the brunette.

Despite the year that had gone by, despite the villain’s crimes, Helen couldn’t help but stare at her, like she had done so long ago, when they were a team, both on the same side of the story.

Well, at least that was what she had believed, for a while.

She couldn’t help but stare like the idiot she believed herself to be.

A small frown that gave her a furrowed brow, her eyes occasionally moving from one place to other, though her gaze was unfocused, her hands playing with each other, her left’s fingers running away from the right’s so as to move towards her watch and tug at it, touching it here and there.

She didn’t need the hypno-goggles to have Elastigirl’s attention. All Evelyn needed to do was _think_ and allow the other woman to look at her while she was doing it.

  _We don’t know each other._

It kept echoing inside Helen’s skull.

It had been echoing ever since Evelyn said it in that freezing chamber.

It had been echoing, along with something she herself had said.

_There’s a lot you don’t know about me._

And she had this awful lump in her throat, then, and she was trying to swallow it down, her thumb unconsciously going to her other arm’s wrist, comfortingly rubbing at a certain spot-

“Hello?” She heard Evelyn ask her, the shorter woman waving a hand in front of her eyes, helping her snap out of it. “Is anyone home?”

“What?” Helen asked her, trying to keep her mind quiet enough.

Evelyn frowned. “You didn’t listen to a word I’ve said, did you?”

And the blush that stained Helen’s face was enough to tell her that she did, in fact, not.

The villain sighed. “I was thinking-“

“I could see that.”

She raised a brow in question at the blurted thought, but said nothing about it. “-If you were desperate enough to come looking for me, accepting the idea that I must have been your last resource, taking my word in a shady deal despite what’s happened between us before…” Evelyn bit the inner side of her cheek. “It must be _really_ bad. It’s the only way I can explain how you ended up trusting me _yet again._ ”

“Oh no,” Helen began. “Do not make the mistake of believing I _trust_ you.” She said, a frown adorning her features. “You’re right to believe I’ve asked for your help because you were the only person I could think of that might have an idea of how to stop this guy, but that doesn’t mean I trust you.”

“But you trust my word _and_ believe I trust yours?” Evelyn scoffed.

“I put my trust in your word because I know how _badly_ you want to outlaw Supers and how much help you’ll need for that one, considering how many Supers you had under your control in your last attempt.” Helen stated and Evelyn had the nerve to nod, agreeing with her.

“Very well, and why should I trust yours?” Evelyn asked her, the talk they had in the car still fresh on her mind.

“I can see why you’d be skeptical about trusting me, but you don’t have _Helen Parr’s_ word; you have _Elastigirl’s._ ” She said, puffing her chest out in a lame attempt to emphasize her words, but saw that Evelyn was having none of it.

So she allowed herself to just say her deepest fear out loud. Her most honest truth.

“Evelyn,” She called, making the woman focus on her. “I’m not asking you to help me because I want to do something heroic and catch a criminal.” She locked her eyes on the other woman’s. “I’m asking you to help me because this said criminal has _taken_ my _children away,”_ She finally said, feeling as if she were in a confessional, the desperation she felt being evident in her eyes. “And I’ve thought of the different alternatives and possibilities, but they all ended up being dead alleys. I don’t know what to do.”

_And what about Robert, Helen?_

She wouldn’t ask her that, though. The hopelessness in the auburn haired woman’s eyes was devastating enough to keep even _her_ quiet.

“I’m not asking you to help a Super, nor to aid me in some valiant act. I’m _begging_ you help a mother find her kids.”

Evelyn sighed.

Then, a thought.

“You’re not begging.”

_Yet._

Helen glared at her. “I-“

“But I think it’s proof enough that I can trust your word, just as much as you can trust mine.” Evelyn added, cutting Helen off. “I’ll help you, Helen Parr.” And she fought with herself to keep the groan that wanted to escape her contained as she said, “We’ll find your family, no matter how much it costs.”

And the smile that Helen rewarded her with, the look of relief that washed over the woman’s face, the way she got up from her seat, moving towards her and wrapping her arms around her small frame, hugging her tightly, whispering a _thanks_ to her ear…

It made Evelyn rather uncomfortable.

“Yes, sure, okay, release me,” She said, batting the other woman away, trying and failing not to blush at the little display of gratitude. “Leave me be.” Evelyn said, turning around on her chair, her back to the Super.

Helen smiled a bit, the relief she felt being far too much for her to keep it contained.

Then, she heard a weird, grumbling sound.

“ _Shit.”_

And heard the inventor curse under her breath.

She gave her a knowing look, even if she couldn’t see it. “Someone’s hungry, I’ll take it?”

Evelyn blushed, but kept her face away from Helen’s. “Yeah, well, I was _too busy_ trying to get my brain going, keeping my mind occupied while you were-“

Then another grumbling sound.

Only this time, it came from Helen.

Evelyn snickered. “Oh, so I’m not the only one, then?”

Helen blushed, looking away with a frown. “I’ll cook us something, you keep using that brain of yours and sketch us a plan.”

Evelyn huffed a laugh. “Sure thing, Ma’am.”

And, as the Super disappeared into the kitchen, the genius intertwined her fingers and extended her arms, several cracking sounds coming from the bones of her hands.

_Let’s get to work._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I've seen some of you have given this lil fic some love and I just wanted to let y'all know that I love you <3 hope this is up to your standards!


	4. Too close to home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Like any good superhero, Elastigirl needs a sidekick. Like any good nemesis, Evelyn sure as Hell isn't up for the task.

Evelyn inspected the pieces of work that had been pinned to her desk’s wall; blueprints of several different broadcasting gadgets and equations for the creation of advanced, communicational software looked back at her, their designs and diagrams making her hands itchy, alluring the cogs inside her brain to start turning in the way they would do when she was in her creative zone.

Still, she hadn’t allowed her mind to wander like that since landing in jail, so she forgave herself for the one thing she knew to be true; those same cogs had gone a bit rusty, for they had been lacking the correct stimuli to keep them working.

So, with a determination that she hadn’t felt in a year, Evelyn took down all of those blueprints, notes and post-its, disregarding them as irrelevant at the moment, but putting them away in one of her desk’s drawers, knowing they’d be safe there, taking her black notebook out of it, while she was at it.

With her work zone now clear, the inventor opened her notebook and skimmed through the pages, ignoring her older sketches, experiments, thoughts, all crammed up in that black-and-white object, the container of the deepest part of her mind and heart, until she reached blank pages.

Taking out her preferred mechanical pencil from the pen holder to her right, Evelyn tapped its’ tip against her bottom lip as she thought, her free hand’s fingers drumming against the desk, her eyes glued to the blank space in front of her.

A Superhuman who they knew nothing about, except for the fact that those who met him were never seen again.

Evelyn hummed, deep in her own thoughts, a frown making her brow crease. It would prove to be a hard task, a challenge, even, but she’d make it work.

She always could.

As she began forming coherent thoughts about this new enemy of Helen’s, she twirled her pencil on her hand, clicking its’ end and making graphite come out of its’ tip.

And with her weapon of choice at the ready, she began to scribble down what she knew she should keep in mind.

_Enhanced in a way we do not have knowledge of… People who meet him go AWOL…_

She straightened her back at that thought, the frown still present.

_People, or_ Supers?

She wouldn’t get anywhere if she kept spinning around that idea, that much she knew.

So she shook her head, as if freeing her mind from the thought, writing it down on a corner and placing a question mark next to it. Then, she proceeded to cross out the word  _People,_ replacing it with  _Supers_ on the sentence that had sparked her unanswered question.

_I know Supers are gone; don’t know about commoners. No time to figure it out._

She resumed the tapping of her pencil against her mouth, then, as she realized she had hit a wall; there was nothing else she knew for certain.

_Fuck._

She started twirling the pencil, needing to occupy her body with some idle task, if only to give her mind something to anchor her to reality as she allowed herself to roam the deep, dark sea that could be her own brain.

And she realized something, then, quickly writing it down before it abandoned her.

_All those who met him and_   _disappeared were alone when it happened; not accompanied by anyone else._

Still, that didn’t tell her much, either.

She let out a long exhale bringing both of her hands to her temples, massaging them as she shut her eyes closed and thought of anything else that could be important.

_Enhanced strength, invisibility, force-fields, enhanced speed…_

Her eyes were open wide, then.

_Did the Super take her baby, too?_

A frown.

_No; he must be somewhere else. Helen wouldn’t be_ this  _calm if it weren’t that way._

_Not like she’s_ relaxed  _or anything, but she’s certainly able to keep it together. If her baby were in danger, she’d be batshit crazy._

So she brought her pencil down on the page, again.

_All missing Supers display a lack of getaway powers._

She frowned, then raised a brow, her eyes lazily looking at what she had just written. She made a small arrow going from her latest sentence to an empty space;

_Enhanced speed may be up for discussion, but still not a good enough escape power._

Evelyn sighed, laying back on her seat’s backrest and stretching as she did so, feeling at a dead end with what little information she had.

She didn’t notice the auburn haired woman watching her until the Super made herself visible on her peripheral vision, earning a chair-spin from the brunette. Blue eyes landed on the plates the taller woman was carrying. “Pasta? Thought you’d be more into healthy stuff.” She wondered out loud, taking one of the plates from her hands nonetheless and digging in with the fork the woman also handed her.

Helen looked away, a certain sadness to her eyes. “I haven’t been too focused on nutrition ever since-“

“I gotcha,” Evelyn shut her up right before taking another bite of her food, immediately linking the curious choice with the events that had taken place on the woman’s life the past month.

_Poor woman has been fighting to keep herself sane and you question her stupid dinner? Way to go, Deavor._

Helen looked at her with a bit of gratitude in her eyes, before delicately beginning to eat her own food.

And neither could talk, for they had been starving, the dinner making them quiet for a couple of minutes as they wolfed down on their food; Evelyn looking like she hadn’t had a proper meal in eons, Helen making it a point to show off all of her manners.

“Okay, so,” Evelyn said around her last mouthful of food, swallowing it down before continuing, “All that we know thus far is that this Super is making other Supers disappear when they encounter him.”

Helen had been staring at her with disgust, for the woman was lacking manners. “You don’t say.”

“I wasn’t done talking, yet.” Evelyn said, a bored look on her face at the display of sarcasm she had just seen. “We don’t know anything else about our objective, but we  _do_ know stuff about their targets,” She said, bringing up her hand, lifting her index finger. “First, they’re all Supers,” She brought up her middle finger. “Second, they all faced the rogue Super by themselves,” And she made a small pause, leaving room for Helen to shoot down her guess, but the woman was focused on her, waiting for the inventor to continue, so she allowed herself to be proud for her lucky guess and continued listing, raising a third finger. “Third, no Super that has disappeared presented a power that allowed them to escape effectively.”

“Wait,” Helen said, “Dash’s speed could be effective for escapes.” A dumbfounded look on her face, “Hell, if he hasn’t given  _me_ trouble!”

“But what makes you think our rogue friend isn’t super-fast, too?”

Helen frowned. “Well…”

“Superpowers tend to repeat themselves. I mean, come on,” Evelyn said, a chuckle escaping her lips. “ _Mr. Incredible_ is anything but incredible;  _anyone_ can be super-strong.” She shrugged, a lazy look on her eyes. “Even I could.”

Helen’s frown remained. “How could you possibly…?” She shook her head, “Not important.”

“Even if Rogue —Let’s start calling them that, from now on, —wasn’t super-fast, your son hadn’t struck me as the fleeing type.”

“No,” Helen responded, her demeanor falling a little bit. “He isn’t.”

“Right,” Evelyn said with a nod, “So then my theory-“

“What about Violet?”

“What about her?”

“Invisibility.”

“Invisibility is a good  _hiding_ power, not  _fleeing._ ” She corrected her. When she saw the expression on the other woman’s face, the  _what’s the difference?_ That was tattooed to her eyes, she added, “You can be invisible all you want, but you’re still in the lion’s den. Never heard that typical threat,  _you can hide, but we’ll find you?”_

Evelyn could see the tension accumulating on the woman’s jaw, for she was clenching her teeth. “I understand.”

“So, for now, we’re certain of only three things.”

“Which are?”

“One; you’ll have to get more information on Rogue.”

Helen nodded. “And two?”

“Two; considering we’ll be working in the same style as we had done before, you’ll need backup in the field, which takes me to item number three; your backup needs to offer a good way to escape.” Evelyn’s head lolled to a side. “Is Voyd still around?”

Helen nodded. “Yeah, she hasn’t encountered Rogue, yet. I think.”

“Good, then you should contact her.”

A grimace took over Helen’s expression. “I don’t know how well she’ll take my new  _partner_.”

Evelyn shrugged, evident on her face that she didn’t care. “If she was the first one of you two to try and come for me, then I guess it won’t be as bad as you think.”

* * *

 It hadn’t been as bad as she had thought.

It had been  _worse._

Helen had called Karen, telling her to come to her house immediately. Without wasting time, the young Super had opened a portal from her spot to the Parr’s house, making herself present in just a matter of seconds, backpack on her, suit inside of it.

When she saw her role model, she almost lost her wits, but after noticing that Elastigirl was looking at someone else, she allowed her gaze to follow the other Super’s.

And that’s how she saw the mad inventor at her desk, furiously scribbling at some paper.

Both the auburn haired Super and the blue eyed villain turned around at the sound of keys falling to the ground, only to be met with a shocked Karen, her jaw hanging open as she couldn’t believe who was sitting with her idol.

And she started shaking her head, hugging herself, retreating from them.

“Karen,” Helen immediately said, her mother instincts telling her how far the depth of her upset went. “Dear-“

She was cut off by the sound of a portal opening up right behind the blue haired woman as she tried to make her exit.

Helen looked frantically between the fleeing Karen and the serious Evelyn, the latter pointing at Karen with all of her energy and mouthing  _catch her!_

So, as Karen was already halfway out, Helen stuck out her arm, stretching it until she got a hold of the other Super.

And Karen would have escaped successfully if it weren’t for the fact that her portals couldn’t close up if there was an object going through them.

So, without thinking much, the pressure that the interdimensional door applied on her arm being far too weird and wanting  _out_ of it, Helen brought her arm back, bringing Karen right back through the portal.

The young Super flew through the air as she was slingshotted back, crash landing on the couch, no real harm coming her way as the older Super was far too trained in keeping her troublemaking children in check.

As Karen got a hold of her surroundings, realizing with surprise that she had been taken back right through her own portal, Helen dropped herself on top of the young Super, trapping her with her elastic body, her arms snaking around the blue haired woman three times.

“What,” A blushing Karen stuttered, “What, what are you doing? How did you do that?” And then, as her eyes moved to her right, trying to  _avoid_ looking at the Super that was so close to her, “ _Why is she here?!”_

Evelyn grimaced at the pitch of the shrieked question. Helen simply looked for Karen’s eyes.

“Karen, dear, let us explain and  _then_ you can run away all you want.”

And the young Super looked at the woman so close to her, nodding as she looked away with a blush, grimacing at the sight of the mad inventor.

Evelyn sighed.

_Why did I ever agree to this?_

* * *

 “So,” Karen began, breaking the silence that had fallen over the three of them as the original team explained the situation to her. “Basically, we’ve got to risk our lives for a  _chance_ at getting more information on Rogue?”

“If you have any better idea, we’re all ears.” Evelyn said with a bored tone, implying she knew how crazy the plan sounded, but there was no better alternative at the moment.

Karen frowned, a bit embarrassed at having questioned the genius’ mind. She imagined the engineer had already gone through several, different scenarios, analyzing the best alternative and plan for them to follow, coming back empty handed, with only a kamikaze idea for them to carry out. Sure, she didn’t trust her, but she had to admit she respected her; the woman had followed her heart, her convictions to an end, without turning back, being true to herself and her ideals…

…it hit too close to home. And it was an unfortunate opposite to her, too.

And she wouldn’t say it out loud, at least, not yet, but she could admit to herself that she  _admired_ that of her.

“And you agree with this?” She asked Helen, wishing to hear what the motherly Super had to say about it, if only to clear her mind of the intrusive thoughts.

Helen nodded. “It’s the best we’ve got and, as I bet you can already imagine, personally, I’m already out of both time and patience.”

Karen made a face, steeling herself before nodding. “Okay, I’m in, too.” And then she remembered someone, making her lose what little composure she had regained, “Wait, Elasti-“ She cut herself off, “ _Helen,”_ She corrected herself, making the villain chuckle, the reaction earning the brunette a glare from the auburn haired woman, “If Rogue has your children, does that mean they also have Jack-Jack?” She asked, fear coating her features as the interdimensional Super remembered the kind of powers the kid had, knowledge she possessed due to having been his babysitter more than once.

Helen shook her head. “No, he was with me when we got separated. After the incident, I asked E to take care of him. I figured he’d be safer with her, away from us until we solved the problem.”

“I see.” Karen said, relief washing over her.

They hadn’t noticed the curious look Evelyn had on her face. “…E?”

“Oh, right, you don’t know her,” Helen said. “I mean, if you did, you wouldn’t have chosen that Galbaki dude who designed that garbage suit.”

Evelyn raised a brow. “ _E_  is some fashion designer?”

“She is far more than just that,” Helen said, a smile on her lips, an idea crossing her mind, “And that’s something you’ll see for yourself, for we’ll be paying her a visit.”

Karen was beaming with the information, having admired the designer’s work from afar. Evelyn, on the other hand, was groaning, not being able to see why on Earth would they have to visit a  _fashion designer._

“What for? Do you need her to stitch up your little Super suit?” She said in an attempt to taunt the other woman, but Helen just looked at her with a raised brow.

“If you’re the one behind Karen’s Super suit, then it means it’s as useless as the one you had ordered for me, so I figured we might as well give her something that will actually protect her.”

“And this  _E_ woman will be able to do it because…?”

“I won’t answer any more of your questions,” Helen said, a smug look on her face as Evelyn glared at her, the auburn haired woman knowing full well how badly it affected the other woman, not being given the information she desired, being left in the dark. “So if you want to know more, you’ll have to come with us.”

So they all got into the Incredibile, Evelyn with her glare still present, Karen with a nervous smile on her face, Helen too busy with driving to care.

And, as they made their way to Edna’s house, a thought occurred to Evelyn, her whole being intent on distracting herself from the annoying, upcoming visit. “Karen, a question.”

The young Super was actually surprised the genius had something to ask  _her._ “Uh, shoot.”

Evelyn turned around, “Under which circumstances were the other Supers caught?”

Karen thought for a moment. “Brick and Krushauer were patrolling the streets when they got caught.”

“Were they together?”

“No, it happened in two different nights; Brick got caught first.”

Evelyn nodded. “I see. And He-Lectrix?”

Karen frowned. “We were both out, trying to find a clue to Brick and Krushauer’s whereabouts, but then we got cornered.”

“By Rogue?”

Karen shook her head. “Common criminals. Still, something felt  _odd,_ like there was this density to the air…” She sighed. “It felt bad. We tried to fight them off, but I kept having this  _bad_ feeling about it all.” She started picking at her fingers, her eyes casted downwards. “Eventually, I opened up a portal and escaped with ‘Trix, but they caught up with us.” She closed her eyes. “We split up to try and lose them and when I we met again, there was something weird to him…”

Evelyn was hunched over the backrest of her seat, paying close attention to Karen, “What?”

Karen shook her head. “I don’t know. All I know is that I didn’t know how to handle the situation, so I fled.” She confessed, embarrassment clear on her expression. “I’m a terrible Super.”

“Don’t say that, sweetie,” Helen said, making eye contact with Karen through her rearview mirror, worry evident on her face, for she didn't know about what the younger Super had just confessed. “You tried your best-”

_And failed,_ thought the engineer to her right.

“And, when you didn’t know what else to do, you left to find help.” Helen finished, remembering how Voyd had asked for Evelyn’s help, not asking for Elastigirl because of how the Super had been rather absent due to her own personal problems. “You did what you had to, which was also the right thing to do.”

Evelyn regarded Karen for a little longer, who seemed to be uncomfortable under her intense scrutiny, then turned around again, looking ahead.

“Besides,” The engineer added, looking out through the window. “It is thanks to the fact that you’re with us and not with them that we stand a chance at learning more about Rogue.” She folded her arms in front of her. “So you made the wisest choice, long term speaking.”

And while Karen was too busy allowing her two mentors’ words to soothe her, Helen was glancing at the woman to her right out of the corner of her eye.

_What’s up with that kind attitude of yours?_

She looked ahead, again.

_Probably just to serve your own interests._

But then, she remembered something that still remained a fact.

_We don’t know each other._

She would have to learn not to judge the woman beforehand, something that proved already hard, given their story together.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact: This chapter was three times longer, but I decided to split it up, if only to save your braincells from being fried. Hope you enjoy!


	5. Tone it down a notch, will you?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Designers of two kinds meet. Despite it being so long ago, Edna still hasn't forgotten about the Galbaki fiasco.

Helen had to suppress a smirk as she saw both Karen and Evelyn stare at Edna’s house with awe on their faces, though Evelyn’s was far better concealed.

She halted the car right in front of the entrance, the identification screen turning on to her left, Edna’s face staring right back at her.

“Hello, E.” Helen said before the other woman could say anything.

“Darling!” Edna began, but then she caught a glimpse of Helen’s companion. “You’ve brought a guest; I see?” She asked, unaware of who it was, sitting to Helen’s right.

Helen hummed an affirmative. “Two, actually. May we come in?”

“Please, darling! Come in, come in!” Edna said, the gates to her house opening at her command.

As Helen drove their way to Edna’s mansion’s entrance, she heard Evelyn mutter, “Swanky,” under her breath.

She earned an incredulous scoff from the woman to her left. “You’re one to talk,  _Miss Deavor.”_

Evelyn looked at her, that constantly tired, constantly bored, look still on her face. “I’ll remind you I’ve spent a full year away from any kind of luxuries,  _darling_.” She said, imitating Edna’s curious accent, then stared ahead. “I have all the right in the world to judge.”

Helen simply rolled her eyes, parking the car with no more words shared between them.

Neither noticed the funny looks Karen was giving both of them.

As they got out of the car, the rather small designer opened the door to her house, “Elastigirl, darling! Welcome,” She said, then looked at her companions. “And who do we have here?”

“Well-“

“Oh, we’ll discuss it inside, come in!” Edna cut Helen off, ushering them inside.

“You won’t  _believe_ the things I’ve been able to create with little John!” Edna said as she walked towards her laboratory, the other three following her.

Karen frowned. “…John?”

“Jack-Jack.” Helen called over her shoulder.

She missed Karen’s flabbergasted look. “His, his name is John?!”

“How is it that you didn’t know it?” Evelyn questioned. “Even  _I_ knew it.”

“I…”

“Nobody really calls him that.” Helen explained.

They stopped at the door as Edna introduced her password, then placed her hand on the fingerprint scanner, then moved her glasses aside for the retina scanner to do its’ job and finally said to the microphone, “Edna Mode and guests.” Preventing the turrets from appearing and aiming at them.

It all passed by rather unnoticed by Karen, but Evelyn saw the coincidental resemblance and snorted, approaching Helen by the back and whispering into her ear, “Oddly familiar, indeed.”

She took a step backwards before anyone could notice, but she made the Super turn to look at her, a knowing smile on her lips.

As the door opened and they entered the small woman’s laboratory, though, Helen threw herself to the ground, landing on her knees, a loud  _Jack-Jack!_ Escaping her mouth as she saw her baby idly playing around.

The kid turned at the sound of his mother’s voice and, with a smile, floated his way to her.

Literally.

Evelyn watched with  _horror_ as the kid floated towards her mother, remembering how  _he_ had been the one to ruin her plans that one time, using the same exact power at first.

Karen simply smiled at him.

Helen hugged him tenderly, but after a couple of minutes she saw herself forced to pull him away from her when he accidentally set himself ablaze, Edna immediately quelling the fire with the kid’s suit’s control panel. Helen laughed and hugged him once more, uncaring for the pink substance that poured out of his clothes.

Evelyn’s expression became even  _more_ exaggerated at the image. “Oh God, I’m so glad he doesn’t know who I am.” She stated out loud, earning a curious look from everyone in the room. She looked at them and shrugged, defending her statement with a, “He’s freakish.”

“He’s not  _that_ bad.” Helen stated, too focused on her kid to say anything else.

“Well, you’re right,” Evelyn said, making the Super look at her with surprise on her face, for they had finally agreed on something. Then, when she was sure she had the woman’s attention, her wolfish smirk appeared as she added, “You’re freakier.”

“And this all begs the question,” Edna said, noticing the strange dynamic the Super and the inventor shared with no short amount of curiosity. “Who are you two?”

Karen jumped to Edna’s side, her over-the-top energy making her ramble with a speed higher than Dash’s, “I’m Karen, well, no, maybe you know me as Voyd, but my civilian name is-“

“Oh,  _darling,”_ Edna said, having  _none_ of it. “Try taking it down a notch first, then we’ll talk, because I can’t understand if words come out of your mouth all at once!” She cut her off, making Voyd blush, but giving her a reassuring pat on the back. Her eyes then moved towards Evelyn. “And you are…?”

Evelyn’s bored eyes locked on Edna’s. “I’m Evelyn Deavor.”

And it was all it took to make Edna take out a device from around her neck, perfectly camouflaged as a gorgeous necklace, pressing a panic button that had been concealed in it.

Evelyn raised her brows but didn’t even attempt to move much, only hiding her hands in her pockets, as suddenly several different killing machines took aim at her; lasers, turrets, machine guns… She was sure she had seen something resembling a bazooka hidden in between all of them.

Her face slipped back into that calm mask of hers, her eyes lazily watching over everything as her demeanor remained cool. Her smirk, though, made its’ reappearance as she clicked her tongue to the roof of her mouth. “Excessive.”

“ _What are you doing here?!”_ Edna questioned, a furious look on her face. “You lying, betraying scum!” She then opened her eyes wide as she realized something, “You…  _Galbaki admirer!”_

“ _That_ was actually my brother’s fault.” Evelyn said and noticed with mirth shining in her eyes how, at the sound of her confession, the bazooka hid itself on the laboratory’s roof once more.

“Still, it doesn’t change what you  _did_!” Edna said, ready to press the button again and erase Evelyn Deavor from the world.

Helen was brought back to reality, snapping out of her astonishment by Jack-Jack’s laughter. With a small shake of her head, she rushed to Edna’s side, “Edna, no!”

“ _Edna, no?”_ Edna repeated, huffing at the Super’s pleas. “Edna,  _yes!_ She’s the mind behind the Screenslaver!” She looked at Evelyn, narrowing her eyes. “I will have no mercy.” A vicious smile adorned her face as she asked, “Any last words, Miss Deavor?”

“Standing here, looking at death right in the eye, I can tell you one thing,” Evelyn said, her signature look never leaving her face, which started to annoy Edna. How could she keep her cool in such a situation? “Your security system’s outdated and that’s a problem that you  _seriously_ need to have checked.”

Edna frowned. “What…?”

And, before she could even finish analyzing what the other woman had said, the uncountable machines suddenly disappeared through the roof, safely hiding away, as if being dismissed by the designer herself.

Edna’s jaw was almost on the floor. What had she just done?

Before anyone could say anything, Evelyn took her hands out of her pockets, her right one coming out with the same remote control she had been tinkering with back at the Parr house.

“You brought that thing with you?” Helen asked, Jack-Jack still on her arms.

Evelyn nodded. “Felt kind of naked without any tech to protect me, so I reprogrammed it to be a universal remote able to hack into most kinds of software.” Her smirk grew, “I knew it would come in handy, I just didn’t know it would be so soon.” She looked at Edna, then. “Be thankful it was  _me_ who hacked into your system; anybody else would have just turned your own weaponry against you.”

Edna suddenly felt  _terrified._ “And why didn’t you?”

Evelyn put the remote away. “I’m in a good mood and I felt like starting it off with the right foot with you.”

The room fell silent at that confession.

Evelyn started to grow uncomfortable, being under the spotlight. “Anyway,” She said, clearing her throat, snapping everyone out of it. “We didn’t come to chit-chat.”

“Right,” Edna said, frowning suddenly. “What is it that you need, darling?” She asked Helen, worry on her eyes as she added, “Any news?”

Helen sighed, sitting down on the long settee she had sat down on for Edna’s fiery demonstrations. “No, nothing.”

Edna sat down next to her, a comforting hand coming up to rub circles on the woman’s back, her baby trying to soothe her soul through hugs to her face. “They’ll be okay, dear,” Edna comforted her, “They’re your children, after all, and I know no one stronger than you.”

“The reason of our visit,” Evelyn began, wanting it to be over, everyone’s attention drifting back to her as she took a seat next to Edna, Karen timidly sitting next to her, too, “Is that we need to give Voyd a suit that will actually protect her when she’s out and about.”

Edna narrowed her eyes at the mad inventor to her side, but then she looked over at Karen. “Give me your suit, darling, let me see it with my own eyes.” She said, standing up and moving towards Karen.

The nervous Super took her Super suit out of her backpack and the designer immediately snatched it from her hand, inspecting it with an ever growing grimace.

“Oh,  _no…_ ” She whispered more to herself than to anybody else. “This won’t do.”

And, as she got busy inspecting the suit, Evelyn subtly took out her black notebook, opening it to the page where Rogue’s information had been written, quickly writing down what Voyd had shared with them during the car ride.

But, try as she might, she couldn’t hide what she did from the older Super; Helen always had an eye on her.

So, when Edna disappeared through a door, promising to be back in a matter of minutes, the taller woman decided to interrogate her.

“What do you have there, Evelyn?” She asked, the name still feeling  _weird_ on her tongue, but not necessarily  _wrong,_ anymore.

_Guess we all end up getting used to old wounds, in the end._

Without her even noticing, her hand moved to her wrist.

_I should know._

Evelyn looked at her and the Super was actually surprised at the unexpected glare. “Nothing,” She quickly said, a clear warning to back off shining bright in her eyes, which roamed over the other woman’s figure as she took her in, analyzing her every movement.

But then the book was snatched from her hands and Evelyn turned to look at Voyd, a triumphant smirk on her lips as she was ready to flip through its’ pages.

She was stopped dead on her tracks, though, as Evelyn pressed a button on her universal remote, making a turret reappear and aim right where Karen’s heart would be.

“You do that and you  _die,_ ” Evelyn deadpanned. “And you know too well that I won’t hesitate.” She added, emphasizing her words by bringing the remote up a bit, making the terrified Voyd look at it out of the corner of her eye. “So now, I humbly  _dare_  you to test my limits.”

Voyd slowly handed back the book, Evelyn snatching it just like Edna had done with the suit. Then, the mad inventor pressed another button on her remote, the turret disappearing, like nothing ever happened.

Voyd remained still for some moments, the fear having paralyzed her. Evelyn realized something with morbid curiosity and looked at Helen, “You didn’t try to stop me.”

And the genius was pleasantly surprised to find  _laughter_ shining in the older woman’s eyes. “I knew you wouldn’t do it.”

She raised a brow, her typical smirk tugging at the corner of her mouth. “Because you believe I’m good, deep inside?”

And she had to fight herself not to open her eyes wide with shock when she saw Helen shake her head no. It was futile, though; she ended up looking at the woman with amused surprise as she heard her answer, “Because I knew Voyd would hand it back.”

Evelyn Stared at her for a minute, then slowly smirked, the only reaction she’d allow herself to have, as Edna made her way back with a suit almost identical to Voyd’s, the colors being the only thing different, as this suit’s were even brighter.

“Here, darling,” Edna said, handing Karen her new suit, “Put it on and step into the bubble.”

“The bubble?” Voyd asked, trying to shake the fear out of her body, making Edna point at the section of the laboratory that was separated from them by a glass wall. “Okay,” She added, before disappearing through the same door Edna had moments ago.

The scientist took a seat between the engineer and the Super, casting curious glances at both, noticing the remnants of mirth on both of them. “Did I miss something?”

“Nothing.”

And Edna frowned, surprised at the answer delivered in unison.

She narrowed her eyes, but said nothing else.

And then they all stared at the bubble curiously as Voyd opened a portal directly into it and made her way through it.

“Are you sure this is a good idea, E?” Helen asked with worry coating her words, remembering how these demonstrations usually were. “I think it’ll be dangerous for her to be in her suit during the test drive.”

“Please,” And Helen frowned, for it wasn’t E’s voice, but Evelyn’s, “The whole idea is to prove the suit will protect her. It’s actually a  _very_ good idea that she’s testing it like this.”

Helen looked at her. “Don’t talk to me with that tone.” She said, rather annoyed at the know-it-all aura that was emanated by the villain.

“I’m sorry my rather logical thinking makes you feel  _threatened.”_ Evelyn spat back, glancing at the Super for a brief second before looking straight ahead again. “I’m just a bit bothered by the fact we’re wasting our time, but it’s  _your_ problem we’re facing, not  _mine,_ so it’s fine.”

Helen glared, “Well, we wouldn’t be here if you had hired E instead of that Galbaki dude, in the first place.”

“I already told you, that was Winston’s fault. I’m not going to apologize for something that  _wasn’t_ my fault.”

“Oh, so you’re going to apologize for all you  _did_ do, then? Because you should get started.”

And they would have kept going, Edna’s eyes would have continued bouncing from one woman to the other, a rather knowing shine to her eyes, were it not for the fact that Voyd opened a portal from her side of the bubble to theirs, “I can’t hear what you say from the other side of this wall, what’s going on?”

“Oh, nothing, darling,” Edna was the first to talk, responding before any of the other two could. “These two are experiencing their first  _marital fight,_ that’s all.”

“Excuse me?”

Again, that curious unison.

And Edna merely chuckled. “Can we get this started, ladies? As much as I hate to admit it, Miss Deavor over here is right; we  _are_ wasting time.”

“And time is money.” Evelyn added, earning a  _True, very true,_ from Edna.

So they all watched as Voyd went through the different suit’s trials, constantly on the border of having a heart attack, even though Edna had it all under control, no real harm coming her head’s way, the only uncovered part of herself.

And, as Helen watched with fear, she missed how Evelyn’s eyes would periodically dart to her notebook for brief seconds, her hand furiously writing down every detail Edna would give away about the suit’s composition, the inventor being experienced enough on taking notes that she did not need to see what she was writing, but also not wishing to write over something else.

“Okay,” Edna began as the test drive reached its’ conclusion. “You can come out of there, dear!” She called with a wave of her hand, motioning for Voyd to come out, remembering she couldn’t listen to her on the other side of the wall.

The woman opened a portal and walked out of the bubble, relief evident on her body as she was glad that was over.

“So, as you all see, the suit’s basically indestructible, so our heroine will be safe  _and_ stylish while facing danger.” Edna said, a smug look on her face.

Helen’s eyes moved from the designer to the young Super, until something caught her eye.

She saw Evelyn subtly take out her remote.

_What is she doing?_

“Evelyn, what-“

A deafening scream was heard coming out of Voyd as a laser suddenly dropped from the ceiling, shooting its’ death rays at the Super’s chest.

Helen left Jack-Jack on the couch as she lunged for the mad inventor, tangling her arms around her as if they were two snakes.

“ _You-“_

But, before she could even finish the sentence, the laser stopped its’ attack.

And Voyd’s voice could still be heard.

Helen craned her neck abnormally, trying to get a good look of Karen and see what had happened.

The woman was safe and sound, in one piece, though she looked light-headed after the scare and the screaming.

Edna watched with deadly fascination.

“And  _that,_ ” Evelyn said, catching everyone’s attention. “Is the reason why you should get your security system’s checked; make them aim at the head, woman, so that you’re safe from  _everyone,_ Super’s included. It will also make the system harder to hijack.”

Edna looked at her with a gruesome smirk, a sinister part of the designer finding the mad inventor’s mind appealing. “I see,” Edna said, admitting that the brunette was  _right;_ she had to update her security systems.

“I think I need a seat,” Voyd said, then passed out.

Evelyn snorted. “Good choice.” She said, then her eyes moved to Helen. “Hey, rubber band, would you mind releasing me? You’re starting to freak me out, being all stretched like that.”

Helen glared at her, but since even Edna looked like she was okay with the inventor being free, she obliged. “You could have  _killed_ her.”

“Oh  _please,”_ Evelyn said, waving off what Helen said. “I knew what I was doing.”

“What were you doing?” Helen asked, hands on her hips as she demanded an answer.

Evelyn shrugged, that nonchalant attitude of hers always present. “Experimenting a bit; testing the suit’s sturdiness.”

“ _Experimenting?”_ Helen asked as she scoffed, disbelief on her features. “You were testing your luck at guessing, Voyd’s life at stake?!”

Evelyn thought about it for a second, then nodded enthusiastically. “I knew what the end result would be, but you must always leave margin for error.”

Helen couldn’t believe it. She was shaking her head, unable to form a coherent sentence that explained how she felt about the sick woman.

“Oh,  _come on,_ ” Evelyn said, “Did she die? No! She didn’t.” She smirked. “I was, as per usual, right.”

And Helen was glaring, ready to deliver some comeback when Edna interrupted them, standing between the two women.

“Come on, now, you two. You,” Edna said, looking at Evelyn. “Stop trying to give us all a cardiac arrest, and you,” She added, looking at Helen. “Stop worrying so much; If this one had harmed her,” Edna said, pointing at Evelyn with her thumb. “I would have dusted her, too.”

“How so? Your machinery responds to  _me._ ” Evelyn wondered out loud.

She didn’t expect Edna to turn around, taking out a small hand gun from one of her pockets and aiming in between her brows. “You must always have a plan B, darling.”

Evelyn stared down the gun’s barrel with wide eyes, then, her eyelids drooped as they’d do, an understanding nod of her head, “Seems fair.”

Edna put the handgun away, “Now, I’ll go look for some water for Voyd. Do not kill each other.” She ordered, then moved to the opposite end of the room, where a small control panel was set up.

As Edna wrote down the indications for her mansion’s AI to bring down water to her lab, Jack-Jack started laughing.

And, as both Evelyn and Helen turned to look at him, they both saw, the former with mirth and the latter with horror, how the baby imitated what Evelyn had just done, his eyes turning an electric green as he opened fire, aiming at Voyd’s suit.

Before Helen could react, Evelyn spoke, “Oh, so  _he_ can, but I can’t? How biased of you.”

“ _Jack-Jack!”_ Helen roared, making the baby immediately halt and look at her sheepishly.

As the Super picked up her kid, Edna made her way back with a glass filled to the brim with water. She stood right next to Voyd’s head and, after a heartbeat, she turned it over, pouring it on the woman’s head.

Voyd immediately came to her senses, coughing a bit as she didn’t expect the water that had rained down on her.

“Come now, darling,” Edna said, offering Voyd her hand and bringing her up to her feet with rather surprising strength for a woman of her size, “There’s still one more thing we need to talk about.”

“And that is…?” Voyd asked, warily, her eyes constantly moving to steal glances at the evil inventor on the couch, who looked at her with no regret in her eyes.

“The homing device. I’ve installed one in your suit, right where it would be if it were of the same collection as the Incredible ones.” Edna explained, picking up the tracker from the coffee table where it had been laying, pointing at Voyd’s chest where a small chip laid hidden in between the fibers of her suit.

“Did you really do all of this just now?” Evelyn asked, not quite understanding  _how_ the woman had been capable of creating such a suit in what seemed like a matter of minutes.

Edna huffed a laugh. “You flatter me, dear, but I actually had it all done beforehand.” She looked at her with a raised brow. “I like to spend my free time being creative.”

“Edna,” Helen said, calling her attention. “About the homing device…”

“What is it?” And there was alarm in the designer’s voice.

“I tried to use it to locate Bob and the kids and it failed.”

Edna was shocked, even offended, at Helen’s statement. “ _Failed?_ What do you mean, failed?”

“I pressed the tracker’s button to activate their homing devices and they only popped up on the screen for a second or two. It’s like they’ve been disconnected.” Helen explained and there was an undertone of desperation to her voice.

It dawned on the quick thinking brunette that this was what had been eating at her brain. At least, it was one of the things. After all, even she could imagine the hopelessness she’d feel, were her in Helen’s situation, her brother lost and the homing device not responding.

So she exhaled through her nose, doing what she thought she had to.

“Edna,” Evelyn called, making the smaller woman turn to look at her. “These homing devices; how are they built, exactly?” She asked, a no-nonsense look to her face.

Edna thought for a minute. “They’re small chips incorporated into a closed circuit global positioning system that give the exact location of their whereabouts at the touch of a button.”

“How small?”

And, in response, Edna picked up a minute object from the coffee table and placed it on Evelyn’s hands.

The inventor placed it on her pinky, the chip being a hair’s width smaller than her finger.

“Tiny, isn’t it?”

Evelyn nodded. “Indeed,” she said, as she continued analyzing it.

Edna then pressed the tracker’s location displayer and the small chip began to make a beeping sound, a white light turning on and blinking at the same speed and rhythm.

Evelyn was slightly startled, but didn’t move much so as not to drop the chip and kept studying it after a brief second.

“Rather counterproductive, if you ask me.” She sentenced after a while, making Edna glare at her. As she noticed the anger seeping off the designer, she explained, “If you want to locate someone, you probably don’t want anybody realizing what you’re trying to do. Hell, maybe you don’t want that  _someone_ knowing that you’re trying to locate them.”

And if Evelyn noticed the knowing look in Edna’s eyes or the crimson dust on Helen’s cheeks as they remembered something that had happened long ago, she didn’t comment on it as she continued thinking out loud, a focused frown adorning her features.

“The device’s size is ideal for concealed portability, but being so small makes it have its’ disadvantages; you can’t put the latest software in it since the newest programs require slightly larger hardware. Something of this size can’t contain it.”

Edna’s glare remained. “So?”

“So,” Evelyn repeated, her eyes darting to Edna’s briefly before going back to the chip, “You’re limited in matters of what technology to use. In a device of this size, you can’t use a silent, subtle global positioning system, so you have to go for the noisy one. Another problem it presents is that such a chip is so small, it can’t be framed with titanium, to make it as resistant as your suits.”

When Evelyn raised her eyes from the chip she had just been inspecting, she noticed everyone was staring at her, having completely missed the point she had just attempted to make, Edna being the only one who seemed to be connecting the dots as Evelyn intended them to do.

With a sigh and a roll of her eyes, she explained, “What I’m trying to say is that probably, I can’t be completely certain about it, but probably what happened is that the chips got destroyed as soon as you activated them; they’re easy to see once they’re turned on and they also happen to be fragile, so Rogue broke them as soon as they saw them.”

And Evelyn trained her eyes on Helen’s, the Super staring right back, reading in the mad inventor’s eyes the implied statement.

_Your family stands a chance of being safe._

She had tried to comfort the faithless woman.

The engineer held her gaze, a small, barely-there smirk tugging at the side of her lips, as she saw gratitude shining in the other’s eyes, relief washing over her, if only a little bit.

And, of course, the inventor ignored the confusion that seemed to cloud those brown eyes after some seconds.

She still made a point to remember that said confusion had, in fact, reappeared.

“Hm,” Edna hummed, pondering the brunette’s reasoning. “I understand, but making the chip bigger will make it visible.”

“Well, I have an idea of how we could solve the problem, which would also make the chip harder to access, but no one in here’s going to like it.”

At the sight of three frowns of confusion, Evelyn explained, “Instead of hiding it in between layers of linen, hide it under the skin.”

“Absolutely no.” Helen sentenced gravely, not trusting the inventor and wishing to overrule said idea as quickly as possible, having noticed the terrifying synergy Evelyn and Edna seemed to have when discussing technology.

Evelyn raised her hands in surrender. “I know, I know. That’s why I was reluctant to share my idea.”

Edna sighed. “As much as you’re right, Miss Deavor," And Helen shuddered, for there already was a  _colleague_ -like air to her words, "We don’t have enough time to make any important changes or improvements to the suits, so you’ll have to make do with what you’ve got.”

“Fine, I guess.” Evelyn said, not sounding as convinced.

Edna turned to pick Jack-Jack from Helen’s arms and, as she did, Evelyn swiftly moved, picking up the tracker’s displayer, shoving it into her pocket along with the tiny chip, all eyes focused on the baby instead of her.

So they made their way outside, ushered to their car by Edna, Jack-Jack still on her arms.

They opened the doors and got into the Incredibile.

“No more time left to waste.” Helen sentenced. Evelyn eyed her. Karen gulped, but nodded.

“It is safe to assume that Rogue targets Supers on patrol duty. You two will have to play the role of living bait.”

And the drive home was silent. There wasn’t much to say, for they already knew what they all had to do.


	6. Strike, you're out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elastigirl and Voyd scout the city for problems. As they're found, Evelyn comes up with controversial solutions.

Helen was ready for it. Karen was as far from being ready as possible.

As soon as they made it to the house, Evelyn immediately took the remote out of her pocket and pressed a button, transforming what remained of the living room into what was missing of her lab, the house turning into a complete technological bunker, the windows turning black so as not to let any prying eyes see inside.

Helen and Karen left to different rooms to get dressed, discarding their civilian clothes and getting in their Supersuits, Helen handing a busy Evelyn the homing device’s activator.

“Only for emergencies,” She had warned, to which Evelyn responded with a small nod of her head, not even bothering to look at the woman as she prepared two sets of gadgets for the Supers to take with them, each containing a camera and an earpiece, both surprisingly small.

When the Supers got out, Evelyn wasted no time in placing the cameras on their suits.

They were rather reluctant to take the earpiece, though.

“Oh, come on,” Evelyn complained, unable to believe it. “It’s not like I’m going to _hypnotize_ you with this thing.” She said, gesturing to the earpieces.

“I don’t know… How can I be sure of it?” Voyd asked her, hugging her frame so as to comfort herself, still afraid of the woman.

With an annoyed look on her face, Evelyn placed one of the earpieces on her ear, “Helen, turn the communication systems on.” She asked the older Super, who moved towards the mad inventor’s computer and activated it, following Evelyn’s instructions.

As she did, Evelyn raised a finger, as if telling them to wait and left the room.

“ _See? No harm whatsoever,”_ Her voice could be heard coming out of the computer’s speakers, the annoyed tone still staining it.

“Okay…” Voyd responded, rather unsure but knowing there was no other alternative.

So Evelyn came back to the room, taking off her earpiece and handing it over to Helen, giving Voyd the remaining one. Both Supers anchored it to the ear they both had hidden under their hair, trying to keep it as concealed as possible, for as long as they could.

“I’ll be hearing what you hear and seeing what you see,” Evelyn explained, more to Karen than to Helen, for Elastigirl already knew the drill. “And we’ll be in touch; you talk, I’ll listen. I talk, you listen.”

And so, without anything else to be said, as Evelyn plugged her headphones into her computer and got them on her head, Voyd opened a portal to the outside world and went through it with Elastigirl, both leaving the mad inventor behind, in the company of her own creations.

Elastigirl and Voyd made it to a dead end. Surrounded by three walls, only seeing one obvious exit, Elastigirl looked at Voyd with a question in her eyes.

Voyd’s demeanor was heavy with sorrow. “This is the last place where I saw He-Lectrix.”

Despite being in some shady part of the city, Elastigirl recognized where they were. It didn’t add much to their little suicide plan, but it told her something; they were surprisingly far from Evelyn’s position, for they were practically on the other side of the city.

And it wasn’t anywhere near where she had lost her family.

“I didn’t know you could open portals so far away from you.” Elastigirl commented, trying to shake the thought of her family out of her mind.

“Yeah,” Voyd responded, still crestfallen. “It’s hard to explain.” She offered, making Helen think that maybe even she didn’t know how her power worked.

They slowly started walking, taking the only direction they had available, when Helen heard Evelyn on her ear, a whisper-like voice to her that the elastic woman pretended hadn’t just sent a shiver down her spine.

“ _Voyd can open portals to anywhere in the world, as long as she feels a strong connection to the place. It doesn’t matter if the connection is physical, like the one she has with me due to the earpiece, or emotional, like she had with this place; If she’s been there and she’s linked, it’s as easy for her as opening a door.”_

Helen was about to comment on Evelyn’s explanation, but the woman cut her off once more.

“ _Don’t say anything about this; Voyd couldn’t hear me just now.”_

And now Elastigirl was confused. Wasn’t Voyd’s earpiece linked to their communication system? Didn’t Evelyn say that just now?

Helen cleared her throat, trying to get rid of an imaginary lump.

But then the lump turned real when she realized that, somehow, the mad inventor seemed to know what was always going on in her mind, for Evelyn had understood her signal and was already speaking again, explaining herself.

“ _I thought it would be interesting for you to know that piece of trivia about your sidekick. I also thought your sidekick would be more than a little bit perturbed to find out that_ I _know how her powers work better than she herself.”_

As they kept walking, Voyd opening a portal to take them from the street to a building’s rooftop they could see from their position, Helen subtly tapped on her earpiece with her finger; both as an test of the other woman’s knowledge and as the demand for more information.

_Dot, line, line; dot, dot, dot, dot; line, dot, line, line._

_Why?_

“ _Because I studied her powers while she was under my influence, Helen. Now, stop trying to communicate with me through Morse code and pay attention. I’ll be connecting Voyd to the line so you stop trying to interrogate me.”_

And there it was again, that obnoxious desire to pull her hair out.

Still, Helen proved herself to be obedient and said nothing else. Not with words, not with taps; nothing at all.

She swore she could feel Evelyn smirking on the other side of the line.

Minutes ticked by and the two heroines were starting to grow bored of just walking and waiting.

“This is not going to work,” Elastigirl finally sentenced, a groan escaping her lips as she rubbed her eyes with her index and thumb, trying to ease some of her tension.

“ _Of course it’s not going to work,”_ Evelyn responded. “ _How can it work if you two don’t_ make it _work?”_

“What do you mean?” Voyd interfered, both Supers frowning.

Evelyn sighed on the other side of the line. “ _Didn’t you say Brick and Krushauer were caught while patrolling?”_

“Yes…?”

“ _Well, you two are loitering, not patrolling. Go and punch some thugs, steal from some thieves, I don’t know, something like that. Aren’t you two the ones supposed to know what to do?”_

And it struck Helen like a train, then, the fact that she had no clue whatsoever why the Hell she had asked for her help, of all people in the world.

“You’re annoying.”

A static-filled chuckle. “ _I know._ _I also happen to be an unfortunate optimist.”_

“And why’s that?”

“ _I actually hoped you two would realize this without me having to tell you. Guess I overestimated your intellectual capacities.”_

Voyd sighed. Helen, on the other hand, muttered to herself.

“I swear; I’ll end up killing her.”

“ _I heard that.”_

“Good.”

And they expected the night to speed up, then, as they started to look out for any troublemakers, but the city was surprisingly quiet. Asleep, even.

Dead seemed to fit just right. It made the older Super’s anxiety spike.

“Can you give us a hand, Deavor?” Elastigirl asked out loud, the uneasiness she felt at her whole situation making her far less patient than usual.

Minutes passed, and there was no answer. Worry started to nibble the corners of her mind.

“Evelyn?” She called.

And still, nothing.

“Something’s wrong.” She said out loud, more to Voyd than anybody else. “Evelyn’s not responding,”

“Should we head back-“

“Wait,” helen cut her off, “I hear something.”

And so both Supers froze on their tracks, carefully paying attention to the sound coming out of their earpieces.

They heard... liquid. Then, a gulping sound. Finally, a female voice letting out a hum of satisfaction.

 _Wait_ , no. _She didn’t just-_

“Did you just leave your spot to pour yourself a drink?” Helen asked, not even bothering enough to hide her anger.

 _“I left for a minute, that’s all.”_ They heard Evelyn say, sounding tired of their constant remarks regarding her behavior. “ _Night’s being too slow,”_ Came the response in a bored tone, “ _I figured I might as well make the wait enjoyable.”_

“Remind me to _kill you_ when we get back.” Helen growled, making Voyd look at her with unease in her eyes, the blue haired Super taking one small step away from the furious woman.

“ _Duly noted.”_

Helen let out a long exhale through her nose, her brooding demeanor and hunched back as she walked making her look like a pissed off bull in Voyd’s eyes.

Karen sighed, “I don’t know how good of an idea it is that you drink while working, Evelyn.” She finally said what she had been thinking, saying the inventor’s name for the first time since seeing her free.

_“You two probably think I have a problem-”_

“I personally think you _are_ a problem.”

Silence. Then, “ _As I was saying before I was rudely interrupted,”_ Evelyn continued, her tone making Helen smirk as she was certain she had made her, at least, roll her eyes, _“The fact that I enjoy drinking doesn’t mean I’m constantly drunk. In fact, none of you have ever seen me drunk. Not even tipsy.”_

And then the silence was on the other end of the line, as the two Superheroines looked at each other, Helen unwilling to admit Evelyn was right, Voyd with a look that said _she’s actually right._

“I refuse to believe _I_ haven’t seen you drunk.” Helen stated in a no-nonsense tone, clearly pointing at those times when it was only the two of them and Evelyn _still_ had a glass of whiskey on her hand.

 _“If you think I can get inebriated with just_ one _occasional glass of liquor, then it must mean you would end up wasted with that much alcohol and_ yes _; I’m trying to say that_ you _, Elastigirl, are a lightweight.”_

“Oh _no_ ,” Voyd muttered under her breath.

“I’m not-“

 _“You sure aren’t.”_ And the sarcasm in her tone just riled her up even more-

“I’m _not-“_

But Evelyn was interrupting her once more, a humming noise of confirmation coming out of her throat in a teasing tone.

And Helen was ready to retort, ready to tell her to go to Hell, ready to allow herself to get on the woman’s level and get pissed at something so banal as their current argument, but the sound of glass exploding made both Supers turn to look to their left, in search for the sound’s source.

So silent that it seemed even their footsteps had gone mute, Elastigirl and Voyd began to move towards a street intersection, for the noise had come from around the corner.

Even Evelyn had gone dead silent, no sound coming from the other end of the line.

They reached the corner and Elastigirl placed a hand on Voyd’s chest, physically stopping her from moving further. As she cast a serious glance her way, indicating she had it under control, the older Super stretched herself, bringing her torso high in the air and then she peeked around the corner, her upper body high enough to stand a bigger chance of avoiding being seen, in case there was such a risk.

She saw three men breaking into an apartment building, one of them breaking down the glass door, another one following him inside and the remaining one standing at the door, heavily armed with an assault rifle.

Helen was about to return to Voyd, when a hushed _wait_ sounded right against her ear. She froze, following Evelyn’s quiet command, suddenly hyper aware of the camera attached to her chest and also surprised at how, without really noticing, she brought it around the corner with her, as if she had sensed that Evelyn would wish to see what was going on.

On the other side of the city, Evelyn frowned at her screen, zooming in the image of her camera feed, providing her quirky teammates with the one thing she had that knew most lacked.

An extraordinary appreciation of detail, a calculating, cold, objective eye, and an ear keen enough to have noticed the sudden, raise in noise on their transmission.

“ _The guard has a communicator on his ear.”_

Helen frowned; the building wasn’t too far from her current position, but it wasn’t near enough for her to have noticed the device on the man’s ear. Never mind the spike in noise; it was so faint she hadn’t even noticed it.

“ _I’ll try to break into it, hang on.”_ The inventor then said, the faint sound of rapid typing flooding Helen’s ear as the Superhuman retracted her torso back to its’ original size and shape.

Glass of whiskey to her side, Evelyn ran a quick analysis of her own communication system; having another circuit so close to her own allowed both signals to interfere with each other, the slightly increased static being enough proof of it.

She thought Helen should be glad she was playing for her team —for now, —for only someone as perfectionist as her would ever see what she saw, hear what she heard.

_You’ll learn how to thank me for this, sooner or later._

When she found what she was looking for, the wavelength on which the other signal was operating, Evelyn smirked as she quickly typed several commands, one after the other, on her computer, hiding her IP, masking her circuit’s wavelength and successfully slithering her way into their connection.

“ _I’ll create a one-sided link from their signal to ours so that we can eavesdrop.”_ Evelyn informed the duo of Supers, the inventor being aware of the righteous women’s need for the questionable brunette to be clear with whatever she was doing.

Unaware, though, of the gratitude they felt that she was actually cooperating.

“ _And they’re live,”_ Evelyn said with a champion’s arrogance tainting her voice.

And so the three of them began to listen to the felons’ feed.

“… _Kids, too?”_ They heard a soft male voice ask.

“ _Everyone in the family.”_ Another man’s gruff voice responded.

“ _Got it.”_ The first one replied.

Neither Helen nor Karen liked how it all sounded.

Elastigirl got ready to make her appearance, her desire to punch the will to live out of that man being almost unbearable, when a hand to her chest halted her.

“Wait,” Voyd said, stopping her like she had done to the interdimensional woman mere moments ago, “Don’t do that.”

Helen turned to look at her. “What?”

In response, Voyd smirked, her powers manifesting themselves on the wall to their right as they slowly created a door-like shape.

“Now, you’re thinking with portals,” Voyd explained as the one she had just opened revealed the back of a heavily armed man on its’ other side.

_The guard._

Elastigirl gave Voyd a look of pride at the girl’s cleverness.

“ _Someone is going to get badly hurt.”_ They both heard Evelyn say in a condescending tone.

So, before the guard could even notice their presence, Elastigirl and Voyd made their way through the portal that closed right behind them, Elastigirl’s arm stretching towards the man’s neck.

“Huh?” The man let out as he felt their presence, turning to look in the eerie sensation’s direction, but it was already too late; Elastigirl’s arm had snaked its’ way three times around his neck, her hand over his mouth as she suffocated him, until the thug passed out cold.

“ _Seb?”_ The third felon’s voice called to their comms, the Supers already making their way up the building, taking the stairs so as to be able to check all of the floors for them.

“ _What is it?”_ The soft voice asked, too, concern evident on his tone.

Elastigirl and Voyd clenched their teeth. They had tried to be stealthy, but-

“ _Nothing,”_ They froze on their tracks as they heard the gruff voice, “ _Thought I saw something, but it was just a cat.”_

Both Supers shared a long, panicked look. What the Hell did just happen?

 _“You two would be amazed at the number of tricks I’ve got up my sleeve.”_ They then heard Evelyn say, “ _For example; I tracked the other two receptors of their com’s circuit coming from the first floor.”_

As they ran their way to the indicated floor, Voyd stuttered, trying to find which words to say to the quick-thinking woman. “You’re-“

“ _Incredible? I know.”_

And Helen pointedly ignored the snickering she heard, followed by a gulping sound, the whiskey making its’ reappearance, if only because Evelyn had just proved herself a valuable ally.

_Three strikes. Then, we can get on her level, again._

_That was strike two. Teasing me was strike one._

The two Supers wasted no time making it to the first floor, where they found four doors.

“Which one is it?” Helen asked, frantically looking from one door to the other, but everything was silent.

“ _Weren’t we thinking with portals?”_

 Voyd’s eyes were wide open at that. “Oh, right,” She muttered, turning red at the fact she had been too caught up with the tension of the moment to realize she could do _that._

So portal after portal, the team of three checked each apartment.

The first one was dead silent, not even a light on. Empty.

The second one was occupied; two men were sitting on the living room, swearing at the TV in front of them. They sensed the portal’s anomaly and turned to look, their expressions of competitive rage suddenly switching to a scared shock.

“ _Nothing to see here, move on.”_ Sounded Evelyn’s voice on their comms, clearly annoyed at the whole blokes-watching-the-match scenario.

The third one was occupied; a man and a woman were-

Voyd turned beet red, pointedly ignoring the hollering laugh on her earpiece. “Oh, sh-“

“Hey!” The man called as they looked the portal’s way, trying to cover the woman’s body with his own. “This is a private party!”

“ _…Party?”_ Evelyn managed to say in between fits of laughter, trying her best to keep it under control. “ _Did he say the word_ party?”

“I don’t even want to know,” Helen said, red dusting her cheeks. She looked at Voyd, who had been frozen in place by her second-hand embarrassment and slapped her on the cheek with enough force to snap her out of it, the portal closing as her concentration was broken.

Voyd shook her head so as to clear her head, still ignoring the laughs both Supers could hear coming from Evelyn’s side of the line. “Right,” She said, ready to open the final portal, Elastigirl getting ready for action.

And as the interdimensional door made its’ appearance, they saw the two missing thugs, weapons at the ready; one of them was aiming at three women, two of them being far too young to really understand what was going on, the other one taking aim at their father’s head, on the other side of the room.

It hit too close to home.

Evelyn realized there was something weird on the scene in front of them.

“ _Wait-“_

But Helen didn’t listen as she lunged for the men, who just now turned to look at her.

Evelyn was perturbed by the lack of surprise on their expressions.

“ _Helen-“_

One of them opened fire at her, the bullets ricocheting off her suit as the man didn’t aim properly.

Evelyn clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth, frowning at the screen as she realized she’d have to follow Elastigirl’s lead. “Voyd,” She roared to her mic. “Get in there!”

Voyd nodded her head, even if Evelyn couldn’t see her. “On it.” She let out, though she felt far less confident than what she sounded like.

Elastigirl couldn’t make it to the two thugs; she was standing her ground, trying her best not to move much, for she didn’t want a stray bullet to hit the hostages.

Voyd moved until she was behind the older Super, an idea forming inside her mind.

So she opened a portal right in front of the Super, the other end facing at the concrete wall to their right.

Helen immediately sprang into action, sliding under the portal that floated in the air and stretching one of her arms, catching one of the thugs’ legs and pulling him towards her.

As the man slid towards her, the Super began punching him, blow after blow.

The bandit managed to deflect one hit and punched her back, turning them on the ground so that he was on top, delivering the same attacks as the woman had, moments ago.

Voyd stole a glance at the other thug, considering Helen had this one under control, more or less.

She was about to open a portal underneath his feet, pulling him away from the mother and her kids, but the man noticed her staring and immediately hugged the women, a vicious smile on his lips as he pressed his gun against the youngest kid’s temple.

“You move and she’s dead.” He sentenced, freezing Voyd in place, the Super still keeping her portal up to avoid any unexpected bullet.

 _“What’s going on?”_ Evelyn asked, her voice altered to sound like the gruff one she had imitated moments ago, a criminal’s worry on her voice, keeping up the act so as to avoid raising any suspicions.

 _“Two Supers; I’ve pressed the panic button already, though.”_ The man responded, a sly smirk on his face.

 _“They’ve called for backup.”_ Evelyn said, her voice normal again as she switched to their channel.

Elastigirl flattened her legs so as to bring them up to her chest through the small space between her body and the thug’s. Before he realized what was going on, she stretched her legs and kicked him away from her, the man going through the portal and slamming himself against the wall on the other side, falling back on top of Elastigirl.

As he did so, Helen stretched her legs again, only this time kicking him over her head, the man landing next to his colleague.

She got up from the floor, Voyd closing her portal, while the fallen man did the same as the older Super, rushing to his feet.

 _“Vehicle downstairs; Seb’s out cold. Picking him up, now. Move!”_ They heard a new, rough voice say.

The soft voiced man motioned for his beaten friend to go and Elastigirl and Voyd got ready for their next move, since they were the only thing standing between them and the exit.

So the thugs’ actual move was completely unexpected.

Before any of the Supers could react, both men jumped out of the window, leaving the family safe and sound behind.

Elastigirl didn’t waste much time as she moved towards the window and inspected the ground underneath; there was a humongous pickup truck and it seemed the men had landed on its’ cargo area successfully. She couldn’t tell whether they had been injured or not.

“Everyone’s okay?” She called out to the family.

“Feathers a bit ruffled, but we’re good.” The family’s father responded.

“Good.” Helen said, then she was out through the window as she followed the truck as it was making its’ escape.

Evelyn watched Elastigirl’s and Voyd’s screens with a frown on her face. _“Voyd, follow her!”_ She ordered the inexperienced Super, her eyes leaving their cameras’ feeds only to go to her pencil holder.

The mad inventor grabbed a permanent marker and her glass of whiskey, inspecting it as she thought for a second.

 _“Any clue as to where they’re headed?”_ Voyd asked her through the communicator, Elastigirl too focused on catching them to talk, Evelyn partially aware of the Supers’ movements as she looked at their cam’s feeds out of the corner of her eye.

“No,” Evelyn said absentmindedly as she measured the glass and the amount of liquid in it. Solving the equations inside her mind in a rush, she took the marker’s cap off with a pop and drew a line on her glass, one inch below the liquid’s current level in it. “We have limited resources; you’ll have to chase them down.”

So Voyd obeyed, portal-ing her way to them, opening portal after portal and going through them, shortening her run but slowly exhausting her power. “Elastigirl, where are you?”

“Hot on the trail,” Helen responded as she stretched her arms, getting a grip on the streetlamps to her sides and swinging herself forwards, going airborne and repeating the motion without ever touching the ground, constantly propelling her body in the truck’s direction.

Which was, Evelyn worriedly noted, going on an almost straight line, not bothering to take many turns.

_“Helen-“_

“I almost got them.” Elastigirl interrupted, not paying attention to the brains of their team on the other side of the line.

The truck took a left and both Supers blindly followed, Evelyn finding herself forced to go with the flow instead of trying to make them stop and think it through.

They had entered an alley.

_Dead end._

“Nowhere to run!” Elastigirl roared, taunting the fleeing men to come out and play with her.

“Nowhere to run, indeed.” The one she had beaten up repeated, a vicious tone on his voice as everyone got out of the truck, making it seven criminals against the two of them, having the unconscious one woken up and gathered his surroundings.

Elastigirl was ready to begin, but a small curse escaping her sidekick’s lips made her hold her ground.

“What?”

“We’ve got more company than expected.” Voyd said between clenched teeth.

Elastigirl turned, then, seeing hooded figures on the other end of the alley.

They were surrounded.

The shadowy figures moved towards them slowly, cornering them against the armed criminals on the other end, bit by bit.

When there wasn’t much more room to take over without the Supers responding actively, the shadowed figures halted.

For a moment, Helen thought Evelyn was holding her breath, for even their connection’s static seemed to have quieted down in anticipation.

“Well, this is an interesting discovery.” A female voice said, a challenging tone to her words.

And Voyd’s breath hitched on her throat.

There it was again, that strange feeling in the air.

Evelyn’s eyes darted to a third screen, her brows furrowing at the information it displayed.

_Don’t you fucking dare._

“I recall having seen a suit similar to yours, _Elastigirl_.” The woman said again, earning a sneer from the Super in question.

_“Don’t do anything stupid.”_

The gravely tone Evelyn had used froze her in place worse than that freezing chamber had done, so many nights ago.

So Helen stood still.

“I mean, they’re all from the same collection, aren’t they?” Their enemy asked again, making Helen’s eyes dart from one dark figure to other, unable to tell who it was under those hoods.

“If I’m honest, though, the suit looks better on your husband.”

And as if that was what it took to make the others move, the tallest figure discarded the hood, revealing himself.

And Mr. Incredible slowly began to make his way towards Elastigirl and Voyd.

Death fogging his eyes.

“Bob,” Helen quietly called out, her Heroine’s resolve abandoning her at the sight of her husband.

Her clouded mind making her blind to the vicious expression he had.

Evelyn’s eyes scanned the third screen again.

Letting out a whispered cuss, she gulped down her whiskey until she reached the mark she had done to the glass, her eyes hot on the screen as another shadowed figure revealed himself.

_He-lectrix._

Evelyn lowered herself on the desk, her mouth and, therefore, her headset’s mic, close to the glass.

The Supers were closing in on her teammates.

She dipped her index finger on the crystal glass’ liquid and brought it to its’ rim.

The levels on the third screen were critically high.

Turning Helen’s communicator off, managing to be delicate despite her rising heartrate, Evelyn’s finger started moving on the glass, an eerie sound coming from it.

Before Voyd could be aware of its’ presence on her ear, she pressed a button on her keyboard, enabling a carefully programmed equalizer to be applied to her mic, the woman preparing to talk as calmly as possible.

_“Your attention, please.”_

And Voyd sucked in a sharp breath.

Helen didn´t even hear it, too focused on Bob to think something else, her instincts too aware of the aggressiveness on her husband’s body language.

_“Slowly exhale if you’re paying attention.”_

Voyd breathed out slowly, almost relaxed, as if she weren’t in the position she was in.

Evelyn nodded, as if the woman could actually see her, her finger still moving on her glass.

_“Open a portal to your right, take Elastigirl and run.”_

And so Voyd did.

Before the shady Supers could take another step, Voyd opened the portal she had been commanded to and ran like Hell through it, not before grabbing Elastigirl by her suit’s neck and pulling.

The portal made them land on the building’s rooftop and so both Supers ran, Helen not aware of Voyd’s lack of consciousness, as she was controlled by Evelyn on the other end.

Evelyn frowned at the screens, analyzing her options as she continued circling the glass’ rim, the crystal’s sound being the one thing that kept Voyd under her control.

Karen was far too consumed to open a portal that lead to Evelyn’s location; if she tried, the Super would crash, fainting before she could ever make it to the other side of the interdimensional door, Elastigirl being the only one saved.

They’d have to make a run for it, or else there would be sacrifices to be made.

So both supers just ran, Mr. Incredible and He-Lectrix having managed to go through the portal too, before it closed.

Robert roared and Helen turned around in time to see him break the rooftop below his feet with a forceful slam of his fists.

The ground underneath them began to give in and both of Evelyn’s Supers lost their footing under the forced earthquake.

Evelyn clenched her teeth at the sight.

Voyd opened a portal from their current rooftop to another, the male Supers following them as He-Lectrix jumped on Robert’s back and Mr. Incredible jumped high in the air, making it to their location in no time.

As if they had done it before, probably in a practice drill, Voyd deflected the electric currents He-Lectrix threw their way, transporting them away from Elastigirl and herself with the use of her portals.

Meanwhile, the older Super stared at her husband, not sure of how to proceed, unwilling to hurt him.

“Bob,” she called him again. “What’s going on?”

But Robert merely narrowed his eyes at her in a glare. “Don’t call me that,” he spat back.

And attacked.

Blow after blow, punch after punch, Elastigirl managed to dodge him swiftly, even if it broke her inside to see her husband attempting to harm her, unsure of what was happening.

But it seemed her husband had seen her in action too many times, because he fainted a blow with his left and actually punched with his right, aiming to the place where she’d move to in order to dodge.

Gloved fist meeting her side, Helen fell, her body pivoting due to the impact’s force, the woman landing on her chest.

Evelyn cursed under her breath at the sight Voyd’s camera displayed.

She knew what she had to do.

_“Do as I say, in this order.”_

Helen tried to pick herself up from the ground.

She sensed someone behind her, so she turned.

Robert’s fist was coming for her skull, full speed.

She watched, realizing that Bob was far too close, the woman far too exhausted to attempt anything.

So focused on Bob she was that she missed how Voyd portal-ed He-Lectrix back to the crumbling rooftop, now focusing on her.

And thus she missed how two portals opened to each side of her.

And she didn’t see Evelyn coming out of one of them.

She felt her, instead.

As the portals opened, the mad brunette ran from her position to the interdimensional door that had just appeared behind her, running through it towards the elastic woman on its’ other end.

She jumped towards Helen, crashing against her and bringing her down with her to the other portal that had been opened, making it through just as it closed behind them, landing on her lab, safe and sound, once more.

Helen couldn’t quite understand what was going on. “What-“

 _“Shhh!”_ Evelyn called, moving towards her desk in a rapid movement, Helen following her closely.

“What did you-“

Evelyn’s hand on her mouth shut her up as the woman had snaked her arm around the Super’s shoulders, bringing her head close to her body and forcefully pressing her palm against the Super’s lips.

With her other hand, while she ignored the muffled complaints, Evelyn turned off her mic and put the communicator’s on the computer’s speakers, so both could listen.

 _“And the other one?”_ The female voice from before asked.

 _“Escaped. Don’t know exactly how; it all happened in a blur.”_ Robert responded.

A sigh.

_“We’ll get her, eventually. You, check her up: I bet she has a homing device, too.”_

_“Right away,”_ He-Lectrix said.

And Evelyn immediately turned Voyd’s communicator off with a slam of her finger on the right button.

She slumped against her desk, a shaky breath escaping her as she ran one of her trembling hands through her short hair.

“What happened?” Helen asked Evelyn, taking off her mask. “Where’s Voyd?”

“Caught.”

“What do you mean, caught?”

Evelyn’s eyes moved towards Helen’s, the woman standing in front of her. “I opened those portals and she fainted afterwards: she couldn’t make it.”

_I opened._

“How-“

Helen’s eyes were wide as realization hit her.

“You hypnotized her.” Came the accusation.

Evelyn didn’t bother lying. “I did.”

And suddenly Helen was hoisting her up by the neck of her shirt, not even using her powers, for she wanted to be close enough to sneer at her face.

“You fucking _liar_!” She roared. “She trusted you and you left her to _die_!”

The initial surprise fading away as fast as it came, Evelyn mimicked the Super, grabbing her by her suit and snarling back, “I did what I had to! We all knew what was at stake!”

“You didn’t have to control her!”

“Except I did!” Evelyn shouted at her, pushing her away and pointing at her third screen. “Do you know what that is?” She asked Helen, who only saw numbers and stats, uncertain of what they meant.

Evelyn continued, “Your earpiece was normal, but I modified hers as you two got dressed, one of its’ modifications being the ability to measure her stress levels. Did you know that she was scared shitless and wanted to make a run for it, _leaving you behind?”_

Helen froze at her words.

_Voyd was going to bolt, like she did with He-Lectrix._

“She doesn’t know how to handle situations like these yet and you were too busy to notice, I’m sure. After all, you ignored me _every time_ I tried to warn you that it was a trap!”

“And how can you be so sure about it?!” Helen roared back. “How could you possibly know?!”

“Because I paid attention to the _signs_ , Helen! And it all pointed to a _fucking trap_!”

Silence.

Evelyn sighed.

“We all knew what was at risk.” She repeated as she sat down on her chair, her elbow landing on the desk, her hand going for her own jaw. “The collateral damage we could face.”

Helen frowned at that.

_Collateral damage._

Might as well have been strike three.

And then she was pressing Evelyn against her backrest, her hands on the woman’s throat as she strangled her, her face dangerously close to the engineer’s.

“Voyd is no collateral damage.” She whispered, raw fury etched onto her features, dripping from her voice.

She then released the woman, who coughed a bit and watched her go. “Where are you going?”

Helen disappeared behind her bedroom’s door, slamming it behind her, making Evelyn flinch at the unexpected bang. Minutes later, she emerged from it, casually dressed.

“Outside.” She spat at her, answering her question.

And then she was gone through the main door, also slamming it shut.

Evelyn sighed, picked the whiskey glass up and walked to the laboratory’s center, using her remote control to make the living room’s settee reappear and taking a seat on it, bringing one of her legs up with her.

_At least she took off her suit._

She downed what remained of her drink and looked up at the ceiling.

_Back to square one._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What's up with us authors beating Voyd up? Karen, sweetie, I'm so sorry...  
> Next chapters might take a bit longer, since I'm starting uni again tomorrow, so I'll leave this big guy as it is, BIG, for your enjoyment. Still, stay tuned! More will come your way.  
> Much love, peeps.


	7. Unadulterated loathing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Helen lets out some steam. Evelyn thaws a little bit.

Her feet had grown tired, their soles going numb at the repeated action of bringing her feet forward in a  _left, right, left, right_ , seemingly never-ending pattern, the auburn haired woman not having stopped walking since leaving her house.

The wind picked up, the night turning colder, so Helen brought her coat’s neck up, stuffing her hands into her pockets, her angry glare having subsided into a halfhearted frown, but still being present.

She had walked for a while now, trying to get her fuming mind to cool down, the task proving itself to be hard enough, as she kept remembering Evelyn’s face and losing what little ground she regained inside her brain.

_Evelyn._

Her name was enough to make her involuntarily snarl.

Helen slowed down her gait, shutting her eyes closed and pinching the bridge of her nose. She inhaled slowly and, after keeping it in for a brief second, exhaled, taking just as much time as when breathing in.

_There’s always a reason for the things she does._

That was a thing she had picked up about her; everything Evelyn did, had a motive behind. She didn’t do things out of impulse.

She tried to reason with herself, tried to calm down enough to analyze what had just happened, tried to get herself on Evelyn’s shoes, if only for a minute, to try and see things through her perspective; what she had thought of, why she reached such a conclusion to their problem, amongst  _other_ things.

Things she’d been questioning for a year, now.

_Not important._

A blatant lie to herself, its’ only purpose being to clear her head for a second.

_Abandoning Voyd like that…_

She gritted her teeth.

 _She_ must  _have a reason._

But the anger she felt at the whole situation clouded her judgement and didn’t allow her to see through those cold, blue eyes.

The guilt she felt, too, making it impossible for her to think.

 _Could this have been avoidable, had I done things_ her  _way?_

She tried to shake the thought off her head, mentally claiming there was no other possible outcome.

Still, the guilt remained.

And the fact that she was pointedly ignoring Evelyn’s  _physical_ intervention on their battle was taking too much mental energy, making her unable to really concentrate.

She gulped down a lump that had formed around her throat; she didn’t want to acknowledge that, just as much as she didn’t want to feel guilty or responsible for the night’s events.

She didn’t want to admit she still felt Evelyn’s body pressing itself against her side, the mad inventor landing on top of her as they crashed against her lab’s floor.

She didn’t want to think of the engineer’s trembling pulse, the panicked adrenaline that made those blue eyes glow.

But it was all she could really think of, for every time she thought of Voyd, she thought of herself, too.

Every time the desire to strangle Evelyn to death appeared, the fact that the short haired woman had saved her from having her nose bashed into her brain made an appearance inside her head, too, effectively neutralizing her ire, but frustrating her to no end.

Why did she disregard life like she did, but also put so much effort into saving it?

_Why couldn’t you just save Voyd, too, and spare me from all this thinking?_

A part of her, though, was actually thankful that the enigmatic woman had given her something to chew on.

It helped her keep her mind away from Mr. Incredible.

_Robert._

She let out a sigh, that lump forming around her throat once more. It was a conflicting subject; she was glad he was alive and seemingly safe and sound, but what the  _Hell_ had happened back there?

Those were his blue eyes, there were no hypno-goggles on him.

_And yet…_

Helen finally stopped walking.

There was only one person she could talk to about the night’s events.

And thus she turned around and slowly made her way back home, reluctantly so.

Back to the woman who, to her eyes, had started the fire.

A sigh escaped her lips.

_I think I need a smoke._

* * *

The trip back home had been almost twice as long as her angry escape, since the woman had walked painfully slowly, and Helen was glad it had been that way; it gave her enough time to cool down.

She opened the house’s main door and was rather uncomfortable by the lack of sound, the silence being deafening for her.

The lights being all out was another disturbing surprise.

She got nervous, all of a sudden.

What if that woman had found out about their hiding spot and came for them when Evelyn was alone? After all, the mad inventor had said so herself; you can hide, but we’ll find you.

Instincts taking over, Helen silently closed the door behind her and tip-toed her way around the house, the woman being so silent that one could think she was floating around as if she were a ghost.

She reached the laboratory and saw Evelyn, lying on her stomach, on the couch, eyes closed.

She stood still and paid close attention to the woman’s body.

She released a breath she didn’t know she hadn’t been holding when she saw it rise and fall gently.

_She’s sleeping._

It explained the turned off lights, the lack of sound.

_Finally, something about you that makes sense._

With as much delicacy as before, Helen quietly made her way towards the mad inventor, the brunette looking far less intimidating as she slept, her right temple pressed against the couch’s armrest, her right arm sticking out to her head’s side, her left one dangling from the settee, avoiding touching the ground by a hair’s width.

Helen tried her best  _not_ to admit that, in that state, with sleep’s spell clearing her face from any expression, the Deavor sister was actually very attractive.

 _Tried_ her best.

Perhaps it was the enormous, loose, hand-knitted black sweater the woman had donned while she was out that made her look smaller and, therefore, cuter, in a way.

_What’s with you and wardrobe changes?_

She pointedly ignored the fact that the house was somewhat cold, factor that would explain Evelyn’s new getup.

She completed the image in her mind adding the wolfish smirk and the lazy gaze to that calm demeanor.

And she would have allowed herself to be angry at her. She would have allowed herself to wake her up with a shout, even a punch, if only to get some sort of retribution for her wrongdoings, one step at a time.

But, truth be told, she was too tired for it.

So Helen walked around the couch, ready to go to her bedroom and call it a day.

She flinched at the sound of paper as she stepped on a note that was lying right below the woman’s arm that hanged above the armrest, next to an empty glass.

She didn’t dare move as Evelyn stirred, turning to face the couch’s backrest, but not waking up.

_Thankfully._

Quietly, the woman crouched and picked up the folded paper, seeing it had a big  _Helen_ written on a rather messy handwriting on one of its’ sides. Then, she moved towards her bedroom, disappearing behind her door before closing it with a barely audible click.

She laid her back against the door and unfolded the piece of paper, finding scribbled down thoughts linked by several arrows, or not linked at all; it was quite hard to explain, but the paper’s contents were chaotic, yet organized in a certain way. Nothing was out of place, nothing had no motive for being where it was, its’ location specific on the previously blank spaces.

She decided to start reading it from left to right, going downwards as she advanced.

_No mind control._

An arrow linked it to another phrase;

_Karen runs away._

Then, another one;

_Helen’s left alone._

And, finally;

_Helen’s gone, Karen’s broken._

It dawned on Helen that this was a map of Evelyn’s mind as that final sequence took place in their Super encounter.

She read the small train of phrases underneath the one before, tackling them one by one.

_Warn Helen of Karen’s condition; Fail to get any of them out. Motive; Helen’s stress at Robert’s appearance would have made her unwilling to cooperate. Best case scenario; Voyd escapes, Elastigirl gets caught._

_Warn Helen of Karen’s condition, with Karen hypnotized; Open a portal to my location; Get Helen to physically bring Karen through it; The lack of energy on Karen’s behalf would make the physical contact required for this procedure enough to break her concentration and thus close the portal; Both Helen and Karen are gone._

She then read a sentence that had been centered on the paper, like it was a title for the next section.

_Other factors to take into account;_

_Mr. Incredible and He-Lectrix; Possibility of the other missing Supers being there, too; Remaining uncertainty regarding Rogue’s power._

Helen slid down until she was sitting against the door, a pained look in her eyes.

She wanted to scream that it wasn’t like that; she wanted to shout that she  _would_ have found a way to escape and that her husband’s appearance and deadly attacks were  _nothing_ she couldn’t face, endure, surpass but-

A shaky sigh.

Tears prickling the back of her eyes. She blinked them away.

_What’s the use of lying?_

Helen brought her knees up to her chest and hung her head, hiding it with the help of her limbs, her face scrunched up in an ugly frown as she fought back the sea of feelings that attempted to drown her; anger, guilt, sadness.

_Shame._

She tried not to pay attention to the last one.

Still, it proved to be  _so_ hard.

Helen Parr felt like she had been making mistakes nonstop, taking step after step in the wrong direction, just because she hadn’t been able to reign in on her feelings, the only time she had managed to do so being the one time she visited Evelyn in jail.

Even then, she almost lost it, snapping before leaving, pushing the criminal to the concrete wall.

Usually, it was Bob the one with such a problem; when it came to keeping one’s emotions in check, he always failed, while she always thrived.

But seeing the small family being threatened by death like that…

She had never seen herself in a situation like that, where the hostages’ situation was darkly in tune with her own.

It had triggered something off inside her mind, something she hadn’t been able to dominate.

 _What the Hell did anybody expect me to do? What the Hell did_ she  _expect me to do?_

But that was the problem.

She hadn’t actually expected for her to do anything.  _That_ was what was chewing up her mind.

Evelyn had tried to make her see reason and, when the task proved itself to be impossible, she adjusted herself to Elastigirl’s rash decisions.

The brunette had allowed for her to take the wheel, no real complaints coming from her as she sucked it up and just followed, quickly thinking of ways to aid the cause and prevent further damage from happening. The woman had never acted; she was only reacting to her environment’s changing circumstances, to her allies’ behavior.

She had waited for the very last minute to control Karen. Mind controlling her had been a last-resort kind of plan.

And then, she had jumped into the battlefield, getting her out of it. Evelyn had gone out of her way, literally putting herself in danger’s way, only to get her  _out._

And when they crash landed back in the lab, the woman hadn’t complained, hadn’t said a thing about it, hadn’t scolded the Super for not cooperating, for not paying attention, for not working as a team.

She had only reacted to Elastigirl’s explosion.

Reaction. That’s what Evelyn seemed to be, what Evelyn seemed to constantly look for.

Reactions.

Another shaky sigh.

She was so tired. Exhausted, actually.

And she felt so  _alone._

She frowned.

She sat up straight, her knees still close to her chest.

Looking at that curious spot on her wrist, a small smirk tugged at her lips, her left hand’s fingers rubbing at it, gently.

Fondly.

_You always seemed to know what was the right thing to do. I’m just now realizing that might as well have been a Super power._

And she wasn’t talking about Evelyn.

She wasn’t talking about Edna.

She wasn’t even talking about Robert.

“ _I know you’re in there.”_

That was Evelyn’s voice. Husky, cracking at the seams as sleep still tugged at it, but still Evelyn’s voice, none the less.

And, somehow, Helen had been waiting for it. She knew the woman would come to her, eventually.

_Another thing I’ve picked up about you. No matter how much of you remains a stranger to me._

She folded her arms in front of her, laying her forearms on her knees and her chin on top of them as she silently waited for the woman to continue talking, the paper addressed to the Super still between her right hand’s fingers.

Evelyn was on the other side of the door, not touching it, but as close as humanly possible. “And I know you can hear me.” She let out, not bothering to clear her throat from her slumber’s effects. “I also know you got my note.”

Silence.

Evelyn sighed at the lack of response, turning around and laying her back against the door, her hands stuffed into her pockets. “Sometimes, being clever is a curse. The more intelligent you are, the worse it is, because people look at you as if you were a machine. People think you’re one-track minded. As scientists, engineers,  _geniuses,_ we’re given some factors and we’re expected to find the solution. People think it’s  _that_ easy; we are given a problem and we solve it, being there only one solution, being there only one possible path towards it. Machines solving equations.”

She cast her sight on the floor underneath her feet. “Now, there  _are_ people like that; there are many scientists, engineers and geniuses who think there’s only one answer to each question. I’m not trying to say they don’t exist. On the contrary, the World is filled with those. One problem, one method to solve it, one solution.”

She raised her head, allowing it to rest against the door, closing her eyes. “But, to survive, to  _excel_  in this line of work, you  _can’t_ be like them. You can’t expect a problem to have one solution. Most of us, the scientists, engineers and geniuses that actually count… We don’t think like that. We think outside the box.”

She slid down until her backside hit the ground, the brunette extending one of her legs and letting the other one remain close to her. “Like the mediocre thinkers, we are given certain factors and we’re expected to reach a solution. What we do instead, though, is form different roads; combine said factors in as many ways as possible, writing down the infinite solutions we find. We go through the millions of possible outcomes before delivering you the best solution available, but we still consider the discarded ones, for they may be appropriate under different circumstances."

She took her hands out of her pockets, her fingers intertwining themselves. “ _That’s_ what separates good thinkers from bad ones; creativity.” She turned her head to a side, as if she could look at the woman on the other side of the door, over her shoulder. “We don’t just  _solve_ the problem; we think of all of the different ways it could have been solved, the different conclusions we could reach with it.”

And then, silence again.

Evelyn sighed, letting her head hang, bringing her left arm up, resting her forearm on the knee she had close to her body.

“My mind is a labyrinth,” She finally stated into the house’s silence. “Every time I’m presented with a problem, the labyrinth changes, my previous map becoming useless, so I’m forced to map it out again.”

Her right hand moved to the floor next to her extended leg, idly drawing several different patterns on it with her index finger. “There’s one ideal exit, but really, anything goes; I could jump the walls and get out of there, but the fall could result in me getting injured. I could also break down the walls, but doing so would take much time.”

She allowed a sigh to interrupt her, escaping her lips as she rested her head against the door, again. “So I walk around this seemingly endless maze, drawing out the twists and turns, until I finally find the ideal exit.” She closed her eyes. “I do all of this in a matter of seconds, analyzing all of the different factors that come into play, those which  _could_ be  _brought_ into play, too. I consider breaking the walls, I consider jumping to the other side, but I always try to find the one solution that would result on me leaving the maze, safe and sound; finding the exit.”

She opened her eyes, though she still looked at the ceiling. “What I’m trying to say here is that, yes, you’re right, I didn’t think  _twice_ about it. I thought of all of the possible outcomes  _once_ , instead.”

Silence.

Evelyn sighed.  _I’ve tried._

She got up, ready to leave the girl to her devices.

“ _Why isn’t hypnotizing me an alternative on your list?”_

Evelyn’s eyes widened a bit, the woman blinking her surprise away; she hadn’t expected the Super to speak, let alone ask her such a question.

“Because hypnotizing you  _wasn’t_ an alternative; it was off the table.”

“ _But why?”_ A pause, “ _And don’t you dare say it was because you didn’t want to betray my trust in you or some bullshit like that; I_ don’t  _trust you and what you did to Voyd is just as bad, if not worse.”_

Evelyn turned and looked at the door with a grimace. Curse words sounded worse when they came out of the righteous Super’s mouth; uncannily out of place.

_Well, if she wants the truth, the truth I shall give her._

“Because it would have been of no use; if I had controlled you, there would have been no possible way for you two to outrun your rivals. Elastigirl’s powers are useful in many ways, but escaping is certainly not one of them.”

Silence, again. Evelyn was starting to feel it deafening her, but she knew Helen would break it, at some point.

“ _Why not control both of us?”_

“Voyd’s earpiece was the only one of the pair that could emit the right wavelengths for mind control to be an actual alternative. Yours was normal. There was literally no way for me to have controlled you, too.”

Helen frowned, something Evelyn had said before she left for a walk coming to mind.

_Your earpiece was normal, but I modified hers as you two got dressed._

She had ruled controlling the older Super out since the very beginning, not even allowing herself to have it as a backup plan.

It gave Helen too much to think about.

She had a final question.

“Why did you save me instead of Voyd?”

Evelyn wasn’t surprised she had asked that. In fact, she had expected Helen to ask her that way sooner, though.

_Always so unrealistically altruistic, you._

“There are many reasons. Do you want me to give you all of them?”

Helen’s eyes widened at such answer. She nodded. Then, becoming aware of the fact that the woman couldn’t see her nod, she responded out loud, “Yes.”

Evelyn’s eyes went up at the ceiling once more, this time in deep thought. “Firstly, because I said I’d help  _Helen Parr_ find her family, not Karen, not Voyd, not even Elastigirl. Therefore, I’m obliged to make sure you’re safe, but that doesn’t mean I must save  _every other person_ who happens to help us along the way.”

 _Help_ us  _along the way._

_When did we become a team in your speech, Evelyn?_

“Another reason just as important is the fact that we have a  _deal;_ I’ll help you and, in return, you’ll help me later. I’m not one to break my promises.”

After all, she had promised Elastigirl they’d find Screenslaver.

And so they did.

She never promised they wouldn’t be the same person, though.

“Then, you’ve got the other, minor motives,” Evelyn’s voice brought her back to the time and space she was currently in, the inventor’s voice less hoarse than before, as using it helped the effects of rest on her voice fade away. “You’re a far better Super than her, in any aspect you can think of; I believe her power to be superior, but you’re more mentally prepared for the task and you have a thorough comprehension of your own abilities that allows you to exploit them, while Voyd still has a lot to learn about herself.”

Evelyn raised her brows as she thought out loud. “You’re a more valuable asset; I have a better work dynamic with you; together, we stand a bigger chance at learning more about Rogue and, with such knowledge, defeating her… You name it.”

Helen didn’t respond.

Still, Evelyn stood still, even holding her breath.

She heard shuffling on the other side of the door.

Then, it opened.

Helen made her way through the door, coming face to face with Evelyn.

The mad inventor didn’t expect the Super to slap her, the strength she had used being enough to make her head turn to the side.

“That one was for Voyd.” Helen said, as if explaining herself.

Evelyn closed her eyes, sighed, then allowed her head to return to its’ original position.

Helen slapped her again, but on the other cheek, this time.

“That one was for me.” She said, a sly smirk tugging at the corner of her mouth as she added with a shrug of her shoulders, “I felt like doing that.”

Evelyn repeated what she had done before, “Sounds fair.” She mumbled, opening her eyes to look into Helen’s.

They stared at each other for a brief moment.

“Should we try this, again?” Evelyn asked her, then, breaking the silence with her now smooth voice, her words carrying both her exhaustion and her annoyance at the whole subject.

“Try what?” Helen asked, though she knew exactly what the other woman was talking about.

Realizing she was just torturing her, Evelyn did her best to avoid rolling her eyes, but she did sound even more annoyed than before as she added, “The whole  _being partners_  thing.”

Helen pretended to think about it for a second. She walked past Evelyn, slowly making her way to the couch. “I guess we can give it another shot, but you’re not allowed to play dirty, like you did, before.”

She stopped dead on her tracks as she heard Evelyn bark out a laugh.

“If you think-“

She was silenced by the Super, as Helen returned to her with full speed, slamming her against the wall, keeping her trapped with her own body, their faces close enough that they were basically sharing breaths.

“If  _you_ think that I’m letting you do whatever the  _Hell_ you want with other people’s lives, then you got it wrong, Deavor.” Helen growled right to the inventor’s face. “You try and do that, see how it ends for you.”

And the threat was crystal clear on the Super’s surprisingly dark eyes.

_You step out of the line and I’m killing you._

Evelyn held her gaze. “You’ve already set a reminder for that. Want me to postpone it for later?” She asked her, joking about what Helen and herself had talked about through the communicator, before encountering the bandits.

“I’m not in the mood for games.”

“Saved for later, then.”

And so Helen released her, moving towards the couch and leaving Evelyn against the wall.

“I’m not going to make you a promise I can’t keep, Parr.”

Helen looked at Evelyn from her position on the couch, the inventor slowly making her way towards the settee, too, her gait slow, as if she were testing the ground underneath her feet.

There was a seriousness to Evelyn’s face that hadn’t been there, before.

And there was also a certain softness to her voice that she had never heard before.

“I can’t promise you that I won’t play dirty again, because I know I will, if necessary.”

Helen opened her mouth and she was about to complain-

“I promise that I’ll do my best to avoid it, but I’ve been doing so, already.” Evelyn cut her off, knowing exactly what the Super was about to say. “What I’m trying to say here is that I’ll always do my best to ensure we succeed and to avoid receiving any more damage than necessary, whenever it’s possible.”

Helen’s mouth slowly closed on its’ own accord, the woman too busy thinking about Evelyn’s words as the inventor crouched and grabbed the glass from the floor, inspecting it as she walked towards her desk.

She let out a long exhale through her nose, steeling herself for what she was about to say, because she knew it implied that she admitted the other woman was right.

“You could, at least, try and be less secretive about it.”

Evelyn looked up from her glass only to find Helen’s eyes trained on her.

She chuckled.

“And where’s the fun in that?”

Helen looked away, biting her lip to avoid smiling.

She  _hated_ her and her passionate love for drama.

Evelyn saw it all with curious, mirthful eyes.

And the brunette thought they would drop the topic, leaving the subject there, for further inspection, giving them more of that game of constantly trying to get the other to finally give in and show her the hand she had been delivered, when-

“I hate you.”

It took Evelyn by surprise.

Helen continued talking, though, not caring enough to look at the other woman.

“I hate what you did. I hate the way you talk, the way you act, the way you think. I hate how you look, how you smile, how you move and how it’s all a game to get me to react.”

She was idly playing with her fingers. Helen looked at them, on her lap. “I hate what you did to me so long ago,” She finally said, confessing a part of her truth. “I hate what you made me do, what you did to my family, how you made me grow fond of you and then threw that away. How you betrayed my trust.”

She looked at Evelyn, fire in her brown eyes, ice in her blue ones. “I hate how you’re always right. I hate your practical pragmatism and how it gets in the middle of my selflessness’ way. I hate how you keep joking around but can get serious when you must. I hate how, despite it all, you’ve never actually lied to me.”

A long exhale. “I hate your face, your guts, your whole self. I hate how you breathe, how you drink, how you look at me. I hate how you do these horrible things and manage to talk your way out of the consequences, even with me. I hate it all. I hate everything about you.”

She closed her eyes, unable to look at the inventor in the eye.

“I hate how you’ve been lurking inside my mind ever since our last encounter, how you never left, how you’ve always stayed. I hate the fact that I can remember every word you said in that freezing chamber. I hate how they keep repeating themselves inside my brain.”

And  _there,_ she had confessed the other half of her truth.

It was like a boulder had just been lifted from her shoulders.

She looked at her hands again, a sad chuckle escaping her lips. “But the funniest part is what I hate the most about you. How you still manage to make me laugh.” She looked at her out of the corner of her eye. “Even in spite of the circumstances we’re under.”

Evelyn stared at the woman, having definitely not expected such an outburst.

Well, no. It hadn’t been an outburst.

It had been a moment of clarity. Sincerity. Or suicide, judging by the naked look on the auburn haired woman’s eyes.

 _Sincericide_.

And it seemed Helen was waiting for Evelyn to say something.

Maybe not.

Still, it gave Evelyn that impression.

And she couldn’t think of something else to say, but, “Haven’t you thought of the alternative?”

“Huh?” Helen frowned. “What would that be?”

Evelyn had her bottom lip out in a small pout, pondering her question before finally answering, “That perhaps you don’t hate me? Not even a bit,” A slow smirk appeared on her face. “Maybe not even at all?”

Helen narrowed her eyes, frustration clawing at her heart again, but then again, she was also fighting with herself, trying not to mirror the inventor’s expression. “I loathe you.” And then she gasped, opening her eyes in faked surprise. “That’s the word I’ve been looking for; loathing.” She allowed herself to smirk, then. “Extreme, pure, raw loathing. That’s what I feel for you.”

Evelyn rolled her eyes, though Helen noticed there was a certain playfulness to her demeanor.

“Perhaps you just loathe the fact that I’ve been loitering inside your mind for, seemingly, a while, now.”

And Helen felt those words like a low blow.

She knew she’d play that card, though.

She had learned that much.

_For how long can you claim that we don’t know each other?_

_Hopefully, not too long._

Evelyn saw the sudden change in her demeanor and something inside of her softened.

_Mercy. Just for now, just for today, I’ll have mercy._

_If only because you just gave me a lot to think about._

So she repaid such favor with a change of subject.

“I’ll turn Voyd’s communicator on, now.”

Helen looked at her at that. “What?”

Evelyn looked at her as she placed her empty glass on the desk, quickly going over her screens with the gentle sound of her digits hitting the keys on hear keyboard. “I’m turning her earpiece on,” she repeated, matter-of-factly.

Helen then remembered that Evelyn had turned the device off, so they didn’t know whether Voyd still had it on or not. “Why did you turn it off, in the first place?”

Evelyn frowned at the screens in front of her face. “Because He-Lectrix was probably going to surround her with electric currents to fry any electronic devices on her. Turning the earpiece off, I managed to disable it, so it could stand a chance of passing unnoticed.”

Helen frowned. “And she still has it on?”

“I can’t be sure until I turn it on, but if she didn’t tell anybody about it and we got lucky with He-Lectrix, then she may still have it on.” She halted her typing and looked at Helen over her shoulder from her bent position over her desk, a sly expression on her face. “Not for nothing did I tell you two to put it on the ear your hair concealed the most.”

And luckily for them both, Karen’s hairstyle harmonized perfectly with Evelyn’s request.

And then, with the touch of a button, her computer’s speakers came to life, Karen’s audio feed being blasted through them.

_“She’s still unconscious?”_

The woman’s voice turned Helen’s blood into ice.

 _“Yeah,”_  He-Lectrix responded.  _“Seems she exhausted her powers, but she should be waking up anytime soon.”_

_“You seem to know her well.”_

He-Lectrix chuckled.  _“I do. Too well.”_

Both Helen and Evelyn’s breaths caught on their throats as they heard Voyd groan.

The woman chuckled.  _“Too well, indeed. Leave us alone for a bit, will you?”_

_“Sure.”_

Footsteps echoing further away, until they couldn’t be heard, no more.

 _“Hello, Karen.”_  That female voice said, her tone suddenly low and threatening, the name being said in a taunting manner.

Voyd’s breath hitched as she gasped, fear gripping her heart, rendering her speechless.

 _“Hm,”_  the woman said, a thoughtful tone _. “You’re being a tough nut to crack, Karen.”_  She commented, the name now sounding like a tired joke.  _“Conflicted beings like you are always the hardest ones; with you, it’s like trying to find your way in a dark room filled with obstacles.”_  A chuckle.  _“Still, we’re both going to get around it, and we’ll do that just now. Don’t you worry about it.”_

And then minutes passed, a radio silence coming from the other end of the communication that had both women on edge.

And they froze as they heard Voyd speak.

_“...I will?”_

_“Yeah, you will.”_

It sounded like she was lightheaded, but slowly coming to her senses.

 _“Yeah, I guess I can do that.”_  A pause.  _“Who are you, by the way?”_

Evelyn frowned.

_What a weird question to ask in such a position._

The girl laughed, something playful on her voice.  _“I’m Eleanor. Pleased to meet you, Karen.”_

_“Yeah, but Eleanor what?”_

And then it dawned on Evelyn.

Voyd was aware of the communicator.

_She’s still there._

_“Eleanor Hyde.”_

_And she’s interrogating her._

And the next phrase had a shiver running down Helen’s spine, a curse escaping Evelyn’s mouth.

_“Will you take me to the one who got away? To Elastigirl?”_

And Voyd’s response had Evelyn breaking into a cold sweat, for the woman’s tone of uncertainty was starting to fade, an air of confidence taking over.

_“Just give me a minute.”_

_That can’t be good._

“We need to get the Hell out of here,” Evelyn said, a  _desperate_ look on her eye as she turned, looked at Helen and added, “Voyd is bringing them to the lab.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I bet you weren't expecting such and update and in such short notice, considering what I said about class starting today. Well, neither was I lmao.  
> Who's Eleanor Hyde? What's going on with Voyd? What will Helen and Evelyn do? Where does Evelyn hide her whiskey? Is Helen really a smoker?  
> And the most important question:  
> CAN THEY MAKE OUT, ALREADY?  
> Find out on our next chapter!


	8. Encounters of the fifth kind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Helen and Evelyn must think fast. In their desperate look for a solution, they see themselves forced to visit someone they had been trying to avoid.

Helen watched as Evelyn suddenly began to run around, grabbing what she could, her black notebook and her remote control being the first things she picked up, the chip she had stolen from Edna still on her pocket.

“Hey!” Helen tried to get her to stop, calling her attention and standing up. “Where are we going?” She asked, uneasiness finding its’ way to her tone.

Evelyn halted for just a second, in front of Helen. “We need to get the Hell out of here; anywhere else is good with me,” She raised her brows, her eyes widening a bit despite her tense expression. “Even jail!”

“What do you mean?” Helen asked her, though she was moving, picking up the Incredibile’s control and keys, unsure of what else to take with her. “Can’t you just turn the communicator off, prevent her from making it here?”

Evelyn shook her head. “She may have created an emotional bond with this place, already.” She sat down on the sofa, grabbing her discarded shoes from underneath the sofa. “Evelyn Deavor accessing the user interface.” She suddenly said out loud, spurring the house to life.

“ _Welcome back, Evelyn Deavor.”_

She quickly put her shoes on. “Update DevTech’s headquarters with latest entries.”

_“Updating main laboratory’s database.”_

There was a sour look in Evelyn’s eyes as she then said, “Queue task; Erase all files.”

_“Warning; procedure involves physical destruction of laboratory’s analog files. Continue?”_

“Yes.”

“ _Order queued.”_

And so, all of a sudden, the walls began to move simultaneously, the laboratory disappearing, the living room taking its’ place.

“What-“

“Since the lab’s destruction is imminent, the house just activated a safety protocol, keeping the science hidden while it gets torn to pieces.”

And Helen was shocked at just how much emotion Evelyn allowed herself to put into the words, the hurt look on her eyes making it all the worse.

She felt the need to-

“ _Fuck,”_ Evelyn let out, clenching her teeth.

Helen followed the woman’s line of sight.

A portal was opening itself, slowly.

Without giving it another minute, Evelyn grabbed Helen’s hand and ran towards the door.

The portal grew a bit more.

Evelyn opened the door for them and Helen wasted no time.

“Incredibile, open doors!”

_Helen Parr, Elastigirl; identified._

The car obeyed and Helen pushed Evelyn inside before sliding over the car’s hood and getting on the driver’s seat.

They could see the portal from the position they were in.

They saw someone’s torso on the other side.

It looked like Voyd’s suit.

“Incredibile, get us _the fuck out of here!”_ Evelyn roared at the car in panic, pressing commands her remote control, trying to hack into the car’s voice-operated system and failing miserably, her desperation growing with every passing second.

It triggered another message on the car’s computer’s screen.

_Voice not identified._

_“Just do whatever the Hell she said!”_ Helen screamed.

And thus the car sped up, getting them out of the house and away from it.

Without wasting time, Evelyn opened up the glove compartment right above her legs, clawing at the panel that was placed against the car’s main control. She managed to disengage it from its’ position, the car’s circuits and cables becoming visible.

“What are you doing?” Helen asked her warily as Evelyn grabbed her remote control and connected it to the car’s central processing unit.

An alarm started off.

_Warning; violation of Incredibile’s security systems._

Evelyn pressed a button on her control and the car’s alarm suddenly quieted down, the message erased from the car’s screen.

Another one taking over, instead.

_Evelyn Deavor; identified._

The car’s computer suddenly displayed a small keyboard and Evelyn immediately got herself on it, typing word after word as she commanded the car’s AI to do her bidding.

She wouldn’t admit it out loud, but the biggest motive for her to hack into the car’s computer in such a way was mostly because she hadn’t been able to do so with her control and it had hurt her pride.

A small voice inside her head told her that she didn’t need to; Helen already knew.

She drowned it.

_No, she doesn’t._

“I’m sending Edna a message to get the Hell out of her house, too.” Evelyn said, responding to Helen’s earlier question, though the amount of time between the question and the answer made it look like she had just said it out of the blue.

Helen flinched, having not expected the answer, as she had thought that Evelyn hadn’t heard her. “Edna?”

Evelyn cast a quick glance her way, a deadly seriousness to her face. “If I recall correctly, I _did_ almost kill Voyd at least twice back in E’s lab, didn’t I?”

Helen’s face contorted into a worried frown. “Yeah, you did.”

“Well, then that gives her enough emotional connection to open a portal to her location.” Evelyn explained, her eyes on the screen in front of her, hoping to receive a quick response from Edna.

And as if she had just invoked her, a reply came her way, right at the same time as Helen wondered out loud, “How on Earth did you manage to get E’s contact?”

Evelyn arched an eyebrow, her eyes on the screen. “Multitasking is a thing; you know? I searched for her contact while Voyd and you were scouting the streets. Why do you think I took so long pouring myself that drink?”

“But how-“

“Oh _please,_ Helen,” Evelyn said as she eyed her, her fear subsiding a bit, allowing for her typical, teasing tone to taint her words. “You’re a _mother of three. Of course_ you have a phone book filled with your contacts and _of course_ that I found it in your bedroom.” She looked back at the screen. “She’s already on her way out, Jack-Jack with her, locking up her mansion.”

Helen let out a breath at the mention of Jack-Jack’s name.

She tried not to think how she hadn’t remembered him until Evelyn mentioned him, just now.

She also tried not to think too much about the fact that the woman had bothered to remind her that her child was safe.

“Where are they headed?” She decided to ask, instead.

Evelyn was narrowing her eyes at the screen. “I’ll stand by what I said; your _dressmaker_ definitely _is_ swanky; did you know she has a condo in Metroville’s most expensive apartment building, _just because she can?”_

Helen raised a brow at that. “And you don’t?”

Evelyn blinked. “Helen I _just_ got out of _jail.”_

“So?”

Evelyn refused to answer to that.

And Helen’s brows shot up to her hairline as gasped, the Super having realized she had left something rather important behind. “My Super suit.”

Evelyn tried to ease back onto he backrest, but she was still too shaken up by the adrenaline of the previous events. “What about it?”

She looked at Evelyn with a pained expression. “I left it back home.”

Evelyn stared at her, a bit wide eyed, surprised at both the fact that the Super forgot her Super suit and that _this_ was what had her all worried. “Well, we can’t go back, now.”

At her words, Helen clicked her tongue to the roof of her mouth, that pained look still on her face.

Evelyn’s brows were still up, the woman still surprised at how much this topic actually stressed the Super.

After a brief moment, Evelyn sighed, typing a quick message for Edna. Helen noticed.

“What are you telling her, now?”

Evelyn remained quiet. Edna’s response came immediately. She read it with a smirk, then laid back on her seat as the answer disappeared from the screen.

Helen watched her with a frown on her face. When she noticed Evelyn wouldn’t answer, she pushed, “Well?”

Evelyn looked at her with mild annoyance in her eyes. “I just asked Edna if she had any spare Super suits for you.” She looked straight ahead, “She said she left them in the mansion, but she’s eager to,” And a smile betrayed her, finding its’ way to her lips. “ _Prove to me she was a far better option than Galbaki_ so you’re covered.”

And it was Helen’s turn to look at Evelyn with surprise, taking her time to process what Evelyn had just done.

Really, it was a small, simple thing that she had done; even Helen herself could have done it, but she didn’t. Evelyn did it for her.

It suddenly wasn’t so simple, so small.

_Focus._

“Where are we headed off to?” She asked the other woman.

Evelyn looked at her with silent apprehension. “Didn’t we tell the car where to go?”

Helen slowly shook her head no. “If I recall correctly, which I do, we told it to get us _the Hell_ out of there.”

Evelyn tried not to smirk at the familiar phrase; she recalled saying it, inside that same car, actually.

_What’s up with you, Parr?_

She had to admit, though; she had hoped the woman to repeat the _exact_ order she had given the car.

_It’s a step in an interesting direction, though._

“Incredibile,” Evelyn said, the car immediately recognizing her voice, Helen worriedly noticed, “Take us to Devtech.”

And thus the car took a right, furthering them away from the invaded house.

There was a certain thickness to the air; Helen swore she could cut it with a knife.

Her eyes landed on the woman to her right.

Evelyn had her elbow propped on the door’s armrest and was looking out the window, her face completely turned away from Helen’s.

She entertained the idea that, perhaps, it was all on purpose, to keep her face away from the woman, not allowing her to see her expression, thus keeping her out of her mind.

_Because it seems I can get in there, now._

_Lose myself in your maze._

She pointedly ignored how she didn’t mind the idea.

And she was about to doubt herself, she was about to shoot her thoughts down, as she remembered how they _didn’t know each other,_ but she forced the question out of her mouth before she could think twice about it.

Taking after the mad inventor’s own modus operandi.

“What’s on your mind?”

And it was a clever question, she decided, for she gave Evelyn room, but it was up to the brunette how she occupied it, since the question could go in so many ways, the answer being anything and everything.

_Specially with you, creative thinker._

Evelyn looked at her, surprise evident on her features. Then, she rested her chin on her hand, “I’m just thinking.”

_Yeah, I’ve noticed._

And it took Helen a moment of staring at Evelyn’s faintly _blushing_ face to realize she had spoken out loud.

_Fuck._

She knew _that one_ hadn’t escaped her lips; Evelyn’s jaw would be on the floor if she ever heard her say such a word, so lightly.

Evelyn snapped out of it, looking at her lap. “I’m thinking about this Eleanor woman.” She looked at Helen, then. “She’s Rogue, just in case you need me to fill you in.”

Helen looked at her with a bored expression. “I could imagine that much.” She said.

…But, to be honest, she didn’t know how Evelyn had figured it out. After all, they couldn’t exactly be sure about it; Rogue was just a nickname they had come up with for the Super-kidnapper and, for all they knew, Eleanor may as well be another… _shady_ Super.

“Voyd recognized Rogue’s voice; her heartrate sped up at the sound of it. She also seems to be the one in charge.”

Helen inhaled deeply and then exhaled, slowly, trying to avoid feeling the urge to rip her hair out of her head.

“Okay, spill it out.” Helen said, rather tired of it, making Evelyn look at her with full _shock_ on her face. “How the Hell do you manage to always know what I’m thinking about? Tell me; are you actually a Super, mind reading being your power?”

And Evelyn did her best not to laugh at the woman’s deadly serious expression.

“Do you want the truth or do you want me to lie?”

It was Helen’s turn to be surprised.

_Oh, so we’re playing this game, now._

“Well, you promised _not_ to lie to me, so tell me the truth, please.”

Evelyn didn’t bother hiding the smirk.

 _She said_ please.

 _“_ It was a lucky guess.” Evelyn shrugged. “You’re very expressive with your emotions; you display then in your face, your body language.”

Helen frowned as she processed Evelyn’s response, her gaze unfocused as she did so. After a moment, she nodded. “Okay, I got it.” She said, watching Evelyn as her expression completely contrasted with hers; where Helen was frowning in deep concentration, Evelyn was biting the insides of her cheeks, trying not to laugh.

And then that mirthful expression turned into one of inoffensive alarm as Evelyn said, “Oh, by the way, did you mean it?”

Helen suddenly got nervous.

_Did I mean what?_

And for a second she thought she had said it out loud, but it was just Evelyn being Evelyn, being fully aware of what she was thinking as she explained, “When you said you bullshit your way through life. Did you mean it?”

_Oh._

Helen suddenly felt relieved. “Well, I like to be somewhat certain of my future, but yes; I can _wing_ it if necessary. Why?”

Evelyn nodded, as if pleased by the answer. She looked ahead, again.

“Because _now_ you’ll have to explain how in the World did I get out of jail to my brother.”

* * *

 

The Incredibile pulled over on a small street, the first rays of sunlight creating cracks on the otherwise void darkness of the night’s sky, as twilight took over and the break of dawn slowly began.

The colorful sight of the almost black sky fading into an orange horizon, the clouds absorbing the light and reflecting a pink hue, made Helen realize that the conversation she had had with Evelyn, the one in which she had told her she would _wing it_ with her brother, hadn’t happened that long ago; It must have taken place a few days ago, at most.

Still, it felt like it had been _ages_ ago. She felt like she had been alongside the peculiar brunette for quite a long time, now.

 _Well,_ she thought. _The rollercoaster of emotions she has me in is enough adrenaline for a lifespan; that much I’m sure._

Evelyn and Helen got out of the car, walking to one of DevTech’s back entrances, wishing to avoid being seen.

As they reached the small, back door, Evelyn halted right in front of it, turning around to face Helen, “You should probably tell the Incredibile to leave; they may be looking for it, if only to find us.”

Helen nodded her agreement. Taking out the Incredibile’s controller, she turned the red knob-like button until she reached the configuration she desired.

Seemingly out of nowhere for any prying eyes, the car suddenly roared its’ way back to life and slowly left, transforming back into an inconspicuous family car.

“Where did you send it off to?”

Helen looked at Evelyn. “It will drive itself to the National Supers Agency’s headquarters and stay there until I call it back.”

“Good,” Evelyn said absentmindedly as she watched the car leave, turning around to face the door once more.

Helen watched over Evelyn’s shoulder, curiously watching the door with no knob nor keyhole, occasionally stealing glances at their surroundings as the brunette touched a panel to the door’s right.

The panel slid upwards, revealing a numeric keyboard that had been hidden underneath it.

Without even looking at the numbers, Evelyn punched in her password, the door opening itself for them as she finished.

She didn’t walk through it, yet, though.

_Okay, if I know my brother, which I do…_

“Okay,” Evelyn sucked in a deep breath, preparing herself, exhaled it slowly and walked through the threshold.

And an alarm went off.

The blaring siren deafened the two women as the door closed behind Evelyn, separating her from the Super.

“ _Evelyn!”_ Helen roared, going into heroine mode at the sight of danger.

She pocketed the Incredibile’s controller and keys and frantically looked around the building, trying to find a way in-

The alarm went mute.

The door slid open. Evelyn looking at her with nonchalance which, at the sight of a flustered Helen, turned into surprise.

“What are you doing?”

Helen tried to understand what had just happened. “I,” She couldn’t control her own tongue, stuttering like a child who had just been caught in the middle of something. “I was just, I thought-“

She stopped trying when she saw that look of surprise turn into one of silent amusement, letting out a groan. “You’re impossible.”

Evelyn snickered. “Come on, come inside.”

Helen warily obliged. “What did you do?”

“Figured Winston would have set an alarm for whenever this door’s opened; only I know the passcode for it. I just overran the security protocol.”

It was enough to calm Helen’s soul. “Okay-“

“Evie?”

And Evelyn visibly flinched.

Helen looked at the shadowy figure that was standing a few feet away from them, behind Evelyn’s back.

Steeling herself, Evelyn turned to look at the voice’s owner.

“Hi, Winston.”

The man approached them, sleep still clouding his eyes, though a certain alertness was making itself present, shining through, breaking slumber’s spell on his brain.

He turned the lights on as he walked and the sight took both women by surprise; Evelyn, due to how imaginary it all felt, after a year without seeing him. Helen, because she had never expected to see the elegant man in anything but his haute couture suits.

Winston was the perfect, living description of having being thrown out of bed; a white tank top covered his chest, contrasting with the loose, black pajama pants that hung from his waist and concealed his legs, the pants’ cuffs meeting white once more, as he was wearing fluffy, white slippers.

His short hair was an unruly mess, with strands of hair standing at odd angles, defying gravity’s influence on them. His eyes were puffy with sleep and his mouth was dry, just like his throat, as he spoke in croaks.

It reminded Helen of Evelyn’s own, sleepy voice.

_Focus._

“What are you doing here?” Winston asked, unsure of what to do, of what to say; he was speechless, for he had never expected to see his little sister back home, instead of behind bars.

It surprised Helen, to see the prestigious salesman at a loss of words.

It infuriated Evelyn, but she already knew he’d react this way; he was even worse than her, in terms of handling speechlessness.

_You’re too good with normal people, so you’re fucked when you face someone who’s not._

_I sure as Hell aren’t._

“It’s good to see you too, Win.” Evelyn spit out, the sarcasm dripping from her voice.

Slowly, step by step, Winston’s brain started to function, processing what Evelyn’s presence in DevTech meant. A confused look was etched on his face, “How did you get out of jail?” He asked, just then noticing the other figure in the room. He narrowed his eyes at her for a brief second, recognizing her a moment afterwards, for it was hard for him to tell it was without her mask. “Elastigirl? What-“ He cut himself off, then, his eyes going back and forth between the two women, as realization hit him like a train. “ _Oh.”_

“Oh, indeed, Win.” Evelyn said, crossing her arms in front of her. “Oh, indeed.”

Winston flinched, his face contorted into a pained grimace, for Evelyn’s expression told him everything he needed to know; it told him that she knew about his little strategy to keep her away from trouble. “Evie, if you let me explain-“

“I know, already.”

“And I know that you know.”

And then they remained quiet, staring the other down.

Helen was enthralled by it, the Deavor siblings proving themselves to be the two sides of one same coin; they were as opposites as they could be, but they still knew the other like the palm of their own hand.

_It’s terrifyingly amusing._

Finally, Winston sighed, feeling defeated. “Let’s at least move to the living room, so our guest can take a seat while you skin me alive.”

Evelyn motioned for him to lead the way. “After you,” She said, her eyes going from her brother to the auburn haired woman, who was currently staring at her brother.

Helen could see the physical pain that Evelyn’s cold demeanor put Winston through as he seemed to be struggling to keep himself in check, keeping his hands in his pants’ pockets and slowly walking ahead.

She was so used to seeing him being his calm, collected self…

_Guess Evelyn can make us all grow a little bit nervous._

She didn’t notice Evelyn waiting for her until she woman waved a hand in front of her face. “Hey, rubber band, I’m talking to you.”

Helen snapped out of it with a shake of her head. “What?”

Evelyn gestured for her to walk behind Winston. “I meant after _you,_ not after Winston.” She said, mild annoyance coloring her words, though Helen knew it wasn’t directed at her.

So, without saying much, for she knew Evelyn wasn’t in the mood for talking, Helen walked ahead, allowing Evelyn to follow closely behind.

Winston looked at them over his shoulder and once he noticed that Elastigirl was between him and his sister, sighed, rolling his eyes and looking ahead, again. “You’re being ridiculous, Evelyn.”

She heard the woman behind her exhale loudly through her nose, reminding her of how bulls snort when angry.

And then it dawned on Helen.

Evelyn was putting as much space as she could between her brother and her, using the Super as a physical barrier.

She kept the snickering at bay, though she did let out a whispered, “You’re being petty, you know that, right?” To the woman who was looming over her shoulder.

She saw Evelyn’s childishly angry look subside, allowing for that playful smirk of hers to appear, if only for a brief moment, “I’m completely aware of it.”

“You really do love being dramatic, don’t you?”

And Helen struggled to keep herself under control, struggled to avoid shivering when she basically _felt_ the other woman’s slow, shameless smile as she breathed out her response.

“You caught me.”

_Keep it in check, Helen._

They reached the building’s elevator and got in, Winston and Evelyn still having Helen in between them.

The ride was awful.

Winston did her best to ignore his sister’s angry glare as she threw daggers at him with her eyes.

And Helen just stood there, in the middle, trying her best not to breathe that tense air in, pretending _not_ to feel as awkward as she felt.

When the elevator halted, reaching the top floor with a _ting,_ Helen breathed out, the words _Thank goodness_ escaping her lips before she even noticed, the Super getting out of the claustrophobia-inducing machine in an instant.

Winston stared after her, wide eyed. Evelyn rolled her eyes, though a smile tugged at the corners of her mouth.

Said smile disappeared, though, after she accidentally stole a glance in Winston’s direction, her look of annoyance coming back full force.

Winston looked at her, sighed, then left the lift. Evelyn got out after him.

Winston walked towards the couch where Mr. Incredible, Elastigirl and Frozone had sat down on a year ago, as they discussed how they’d make Supers legal, again. Helen made a point to stay as far from those two as humanly possible without leaving the room, so she laid her back against the wall behind the couch. Evelyn was still being petty, so she stood right in front of Winston.

Helen noticed with no short amount of amusement how their positions had been switched; Evelyn in the spot of the spokesman, Winston in the buyer’s seat and herself concealed in the shadows of the mind behind the perfect machine.

In the shadows of the traitor.

_Focus._

She noticed, though, that such thought didn’t bother her as much as it may have hurt, before.

_Getting used to old wounds._

“Okay, first things first,” Winston said, bringing his hands together, his fingertips meeting in front of his face. “I need to know how you got out.”

And Helen was about to say something-

“It’s really easy when you’re not even logged into the jail’s inmate registry, not to mention that I didn’t have criminal records _to begin with.”_ Evelyn let out, hissing the last words as she leaned forwards, her face coming closer to Winston’s, making the man lean away, into the sofa’s cushions.

He had his brows knitted together, “Yes, but _how-“_

“Elastigirl may have had something to do with it.” Helen finally said, realizing that Evelyn was saving her from having to explain herself, if only to have a chance at spitting venom at her own brother.

Winston turned, not having expected her to talk. “Elastigirl?” He was shocked. “ _You_ released her?”

Helen shrugged, a nonchalant look in her eye. “Who, Elastigirl?” She asked, pointedly ignoring the curious look that Evelyn was giving her, for she knew the engineer had noticed that she was making a point of separating herself from her Super-ego. “Maybe she did.”

Winston shook his head, a frown to his face as he moved his eyes away from the woman. Not being able to find a logical explanation for it, he asked. “Why?” He finally said, looking back at Evelyn.

Evelyn crossed her arms. “Oh, no.”

He raised a brow. “What?”

“You’re _not_ going to get an answer for that.”

He looked offended. “ _Why?!”_

And Evelyn gave him a look that made her have the word _really?_ Written all over her face. “You lied to me for a _whole year,_ Winston, and yet you _expect me_ to explain myself _to you?”_

He saw what she was trying to do. “I’m not asking you to explain yourself, I’m asking _Elastigirl_ to do so.”

“Actually,” Helen cut them off, making both Deavor siblings look at her. “I’m Helen, so I’ve got no clue what you’re talking about.”

She couldn’t help the mischievous smile that found itself onto her face as she caught sight of how Evelyn was _beaming_ after seeing what the Super had just done.

Winston looked at her with astonishment, feeling _betrayed_ by the woman. “Elastigirl-“

“God, she just _told_ you, Win,” Evelyn cut him off, making him look at her. “Her name’s _Helen.”_ She said in a teasing tone, unable to keep the dirty smile from her face.

He looked at his sister and tried to build some kind of comeback, but came empty handed, so he sighed in defeat, once more. “Fine, you two _win._ I won’t ask.” He said, resting his forehead on his palm, exasperated at the unexpected alliance.

Evelyn had a smug look on her face, arms still crossed in front of her.

Helen’s mouth went dry as she saw the woman slyly _wink_ at her.

“I just want you two to tell me one thing.”

Evelyn raised a brow at him.

“If you two are back together, then something bad is happening, isn’t it?”

And Evelyn’s smug look disappeared.

“Maybe.”

And his look of defeat turned into one of determination, “Well, then, tell me what it is,” He said as he stood up, moving towards his sister. “If you tell me, maybe I can help-“

“ _No.”_

Helen stared at Evelyn at that; she had learned to always identify _that_ specifically serious tone on the other woman, for it meant that Evelyn wasn’t playing around, anymore.

Winston frowned at her. “Evie-“

“ _No,_ Winston.” She sentenced. “I’m not telling you a thing.”

“Why not?”

“Because it may be too dangerous to go around handing out information about it.”

And Helen figured that if she had been able to read between the lines, then so could Winston.

_She realizes just how dangerous Rogue may be and doesn’t want to endanger him by keeping him around with the woman on the loose._

_She’s subtly kicking him out._

And, judging by the scandalized look on Winston’s blue eyes, he had managed to interpret that much. “Evelyn, I’m not going to simply turn around and walk away.”

And Helen couldn’t read between the lines with him, but Evelyn could.

_We’ve got a lot to talk about._

She could see the guilt in his eyes. It was mixed with a certain shame.

“Do you want me to forgive you for what you did? For lying to me and leaving me to rot in a prison cell?” Evelyn asked, a certain bite to her words, only meant to victimize herself in order to get Winston feeling bad enough so that he’d want to make amends for his actions.

He was a tough cookie, though. “Evie, I-“

“ _Do you_ want to be forgiven or would you rather I disowned you, leaving you _all alone,_ like _I_ was in that _fucking jail?_ ” She snarled, cutting him off and hissing her words at him, baring her teeth at him as if she were actually growling.

“I,” He tried again, “I just,” He stuttered, unsure of what to say.

A sigh. His body slumped forwards.

“I do.”

Evelyn watched him for a good minute. The room fell silent.

Evelyn sighed.

“Then,” He felt her hands on his cheeks as she looked for his face. “Trust me and follow my lead, okay?” She asked him, all that venom suddenly gone from her voice, as if it had never been there, in the first place, a look of sisterly concern on her eyes.

It frustrated Winston that his little sister would put herself in a position of danger but spare him from it, as if he weren’t her older brother. “But, Evie, I want to help you.”

“You’ll be of more aid if you’re safe and sound, away from town.” Helen chimed in, suddenly feeling completely out of place, as if she were witnessing an intimate, emotional moment between the two of them that she hadn’t been invited to see. “Trust me, I wouldn’t be saying this if it weren’t true.”

Winston looked at her for a second, then back at Evelyn. “Promise me you won’t do anything stupid?”

Evelyn shook her head no with a small, tight lipped smile on her lips. “Can’t make a promise I won’t keep.”

Winston laughed, the sound being contagious and making Evelyn chuckle.

She then addressed the elephant in the room, once more.

“I promise we’ll talk, Win, I just can’t deal with it right now, okay?” She said, “But you can rest easy; I’m not really _that_ mad at you, _prick._ ” She said, playfully shoving him on the shoulder.

“ _Fine,”_ He said, a false annoyance to his voice. “I’ll obey you, _Evil Endeavor.”_ He said with a smirk of his own, trying not to laugh at Evelyn’s exaggerated gasp.

“We’re _so_ discussing that, later. Now, come on, go pack your stuff and disappear before noon.” She said, ushering him out of the room with repeated pats on his back.

“Okay, okay, okay!” He said, quickly disappearing behind the elevator’s doors.

Evelyn laughed until the lift was gone.

Helen cleared her throat and made her turn, looking at her.

_Oh._

For a second, she had forgotten about the Super.

Helen could tell that much, if the blush on Evelyn’s face was any indicator.

Closing her eyes, Evelyn let out, “You’ve got no idea of how embarrassed I am that you saw all of that.”

Helen laughed, approaching the other woman, slowly. “I found it endearing, to be honest.” She gifted Evelyn with a small, knowing smile. “It says so much about the ice-cold woman in front of me.”

Evelyn crossed her arms in front of her and laid her back against the elevator’s closed doors. “Well, what can I say? I mean, I _must_ be cold, right?”

Helen halted a foot away from the other woman’s face, mimicking her posture. “ _Must?”_

“Yeah. After all, icebergs _are_ ice-cold.” And Helen wasn’t sure if she was hallucinating or if the other woman had leaned forwards a bit, but she swore she could feel her hot breath on her face as she said, “And you are just now getting to know what’s underneath the surface.”

And such a statement held too many implications for the woman to think of all of them, at that moment.

So she did what she had never tried, until that moment.

Not think at all.

“I bet I already know more than you think.”

And this time she was sure she hadn’t imagined it when she saw those lazy eyes grow a bit in size.

Helen smirked, but changed the subject, if only because Evelyn had had such a gesture with her, before.

“What’s next, now?” She asked, taking one step backwards.

Evelyn seemed grateful but, at the same time, bothered by the change of route. “Well, now we head to my lab and start scheming.”

Helen nodded. “Sounds like a plan.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "blah blah blah updates will take longer" I just want you all to know that, eventually, such statement will become true.
> 
> Cold lesbian is slowly opening up to warm bisexual? Find out on our next episode!


	9. Oddly familiar

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With Winston out of the picture, Evelyn takes Helen to her lab. Her real lab.

It didn’t take Winston too long to get ready.

An hour after his talk with Evelyn, he was already showered and dressed, hair slickened back, a small suitcase with what he deemed necessary moving with him as he made his way towards the main door, Evelyn and Helen following closely behind.

Crack of dawn had already taken place and the Sun was already up in the sky, claiming it as its’ own, the atmosphere’s blue light painting it of a beautiful indigo, not a cloud covering it up.

“Well,” Winston said with a long exhale, halting as he reached the door, turning around to face the two women behind him. “I guess this is goodbye, for now.”

Evelyn nodded. “It’s the best thing to do, Win.”

He gave her a playful yet sad look, like a child who’s pouting his way towards his goals, trying to persuade his parents to buy him a new toy. “I know, I know.” He let out, his expression turning into one of fondness and a certain demand.

And so, after an exaggerated roll of her eyes, a groan, and a “ _Fine,”_ , Evelyn held out her arms.

An ecstatic Winston immediately crushed the woman against him in a hug that might as well have been a death trap, for how he seemed to be suffocating the brunette.

“Okay, okay,” Evelyn said, though her speech was muffled by his chest. “Release me. That’s a direct _order.”_

Winston laughed, but pulled away a bit, not letting go of his sister just yet, but giving her enough room to breathe. “Take care of yourself, will you?”

Evelyn nodded. “I’ll do my best. You do the same.”

And then Winston nodded back. “Stay in touch; Whatever you need-“

“ _Yes, Winston.”_ Evelyn cut him off with a bothered tone and a roll of her eyes and it was evident that she was used to this kind of exchange with him. “I will.”

He kissed her cheek noisily, then ruffled up her hair, still trapping her in his hug, before giving her one final squeeze, releasing her and turning to walk to the door, waving at both women before going through the glass door, ignoring the _Bye, traitor_ that Evelyn said to his retreating figure and getting inside a limousine, the fancy car speeding up and away from them.

Helen’s eyes moved from the man to his sister as she heard her chuckle fondly, “He’s a twerp.”

“Well, that twerp adores you, _Evie.”_ Helen said, a knowing look in her eye as she glanced at the woman to her side, snickering when she saw her groan.

“Do _not_ call me that.” Evelyn said, a deadly tone on her voice. “Come on, follow me.” She said, making the Super move along with her as they both turned and went back into the elevator.

As they got inside, Evelyn pressed the button for the second to last floor, the doors closing in front of them as the lift took them to their desired location.

Helen decided it was time to get serious and talk about business. “About Ro-“

“Oh no,” Evelyn immediately cut her off, quickly placing her hand against the woman’s mouth, releasing her only when she was sure that Helen wouldn’t continue talking. “We’re not discussing this here.”

“What?” Helen frowned, “Why not?”

Evelyn looked at her and pointed at the space around them. “This tower is filled with cameras and mics and, after years living with me, I’m certain Winston’s learned how to access them.” She then smirked, her brows furrowing as she started saying out loud, “You hear me, Win? You are not eavesdropping on us!”

And suddenly, the power went off, the lift getting stuck in the middle of its’ ascent.

Evelyn cackled. “Childish.” She said, before bringing the power back with her remote control.

Helen looked a bit intimidated.

_Terrifyingly amusing, the Deavors._

As the elevator reached the desired floor and the doors opened, Evelyn walked ahead of Helen, guiding her through the halls with an expert’s ease, until they reached the door she desired; another one without a knob, but a numeric keyboard to its’ right.

Evelyn quickly typed in the code and the door opened.

Helen had to concentrate not to let her mouth hang open.

Evelyn walked into the room, turning as she did so and walking backwards for a step or two as she extended her arms and said, “Welcome to my lab.” With a smug smirk on her face.

Helen observed her surroundings with awe displayed in her eyes at the space that gave life to the brunette’s laboratory.

Evelyn’s laboratory was somewhat reduced in space, but the fact that I was filled with things scattered all over the place made it look even smaller. Still, it was a testament to the mad inventor’s creative and modern mind, both in technology and style. The wall that was located right in front of the door was gone, replaced by a humongous glass that stretched from the ground to the ceiling, working as both a window and a barrier to separate the exterior from the laboratory.

Right against the wall of glass was a long desk that extended itself from the left wall to the right one, completely overstocked with different types of objects; screens and keyboards, artifacts that one just couldn’t decipher what they were with complete accuracy, blueprints for different prototypes and projects, some barely started, some already complete, post-it notes glued here and there with a rather messy handwriting that was, at the same time, somewhat delicate; one which Helen could recognize as Evelyn’s.

Her eyes moved to the wall to the right; an enormous blueprint that was, definitely, bigger than herself had been pinned on it and Helen immediately noticed that the object it depicted was her Elasticycle.

Evelyn perceived how she was looking at that diagram. “I’m still offended by how you ruined my beautiful creation,” She said, talking about the bike as if it were her firstborn. “I think I’ll never be able to forgive you.”

Helen rolled her eyes. “One day, you’ll get over it.”

“You destroyed it on your first mission,” Evelyn stated. “I never even got to look at it fondly enough times!”

Helen turned around to come back at her with some clever response, but her eyes fell on the wall behind Evelyn.

There were real life size drawings of two people.

Elastigirl and the Screenslaver, both standing straight, eyes to the front.

Helen approached the wall with a frown, dodging tools, utensils and cables on her way.

The Elastigirl plastered on the wall was dressed with her Galbaki Super suit, different arrows coming out of her body, pointing out different things that the inventor seemed to want to remember;

_Inhuman elasticity; can extend herself up to thirty meters without effort; camera located on the suit’s chest, connected to the same closed circuit as the communicator on her ear; presumably, resistant to sharp objects and attacks, but weak against blunt blows; take necessary precautions with the Elasticycle._

And, as if on accident, her eyes abandoned the mirror-like diagram, just to move to the one of her nemesis, her villain.

She frowned even more when she realized there was a second handwriting on Screenslaver’s notes, one far more squared and tidy.

_A new villain attacks the public!_

And then, on Evelyn’s handwriting;

_Non-Super with a grudge against Supers. Makes up for his lack of powers with an incredible intelligence and great cunning. He doesn’t fight fire with fire, choosing to be a strategist instead of a simple brute; keeps his sights set straight and true and he needn’t dirty up his hands._

Then, on the other’s handwriting, though it had been crossed out with one single line;

_He’ll twist your mind until you’re manic; lost in endless streams of panic._

Written right next to it, by Evelyn;

_Main manipulator. Lone wolf inside the sheepfold. Will do what’s necessary to reach his goals._

She felt Evelyn approaching her from the back and immediately turned around, catching her eyes.

“What’s this?”

Evelyn’s eyes ran over both diagrams quickly, before returning to the brown ones that stared back, intently. “That’s me taking care of my Super _and_ her villain, all done simultaneously.”

Helen’s frown remained in place.

What was up with Evelyn’s deliberated choice of pronouns, as of lately?

“And you created Screenslaver out here, where anybody can see?” Helen asked, still not fully buying it.

Evelyn’s head lolled to a side. “Not _anybody_ ; the door has a code, remember?”

“You know what I mean.”

Evelyn walked past Helen, coming face to face with her villainous persona. She smirked at him, even though it was just a drawing. “Maybe.”

Helen shook her head, trying to make sense of it; how could she plot something _so big_ right under everyone’s noses, without _anyone_ noticing it?

A thought occurred to her.

“Who’s handwriting is the other one?”

Evelyn turned, for she wanted to see Helen’s reaction when she said, “Winston’s.”, letting it out like it was nothing.

She was not disappointed by the sight.

Helen’s frown disappeared on an instant, a look of pure shock unlike anything Evelyn had ever seen the woman display before taking its’ place, her jaw hanging open and her eyes as wide as possible.

“ _What?!”_

Evelyn hummed in confirmation, slowly nodding as her upper lip retracted, the amusement being such that she couldn’t help her mouth as it twitched upwards, baring her teeth a bit. “He knew about it.”

And then Helen went completely silent, the woman having been thrown for a loop, her mind still racing, trying to digest the newfound information.

 _Winston_ knew _about the Screenslaver…_

Evelyn’s hollering laugh brought her back down to Earth, her unfocused gaze becoming clear as she blinked once, twice, three times, her pupils locking on Evelyn’s blue eyes as the woman hunched forwards with laughter, before standing up straight, her hands finding Helen’s shoulders.

“God, your face was priceless.”

Helen couldn’t bring herself to display any kind of emotion, other than pure astonishment. “Did you just lie to me?”

Evelyn shook her head. “No, I didn’t.” She said, teary-eyed, one of her hands abandoning the other woman’s body so as to wipe her own tears away. “He knew, but you’re not asking the right question, Helen.”

“Which would be?”

“How much did he know.”

“How much did he know?” Helen asked, repeating exactly what the inventor said.

A snort escaped Evelyn, the sound alarming Helen, for she didn’t think the ever so serious brunette was capable of such a sound. “Not enough, trust me.”

But Helen’s expression remained the same, her mind still reeling.

Evelyn had to bite the insides of her cheek so as to avoid laughing at the pure _despair_ on the other woman’s face.

Evelyn reigned in on her emotions, allowing for her expression to approach neutrality, though her smirk was still there, the gesture being more playful than anything.

_She can’t wrap her head around it._

A silent laugh escaped her lips.

_Cute enough to earn an explanation._

“This room only contains the most trivial of Screenslaver’s plans.” Her eyes darted to the long desk. “Somewhere over there, you’ll find New Urbem’s train’s blueprints, the ambassador’s choppers’ security system’s keycodes and Chad’s talk show’s satellite’s description, along with its’ encryption system and how to de-crypt it.” Evelyn explained, Helen’s eyes following her gaze.

That lazy stare moved back to its’ original position, then, her eyes locking onto Helen’s face, as she looked back at her, after hearing her speak again, “The biggest scheming wasn’t even done in this laboratory, though. The _real_ Screenslaver’s objectives, gadgets, methods... those are hidden in what I like to call _the true lab_.”

It seemed those words snapped Helen out of her shock’s spell, for she asked, “The true lab?”

She gulped at the look of that smirk growing ever so slightly, Evelyn’s feline features giving it a certain wild air.

Without explaining much, Evelyn moved towards her desk, her hand immediately going to the corner that met the wall, looking for something that seemed to be right underneath it, stuck to the desk’s underside.

The look of concentration her face took as she searched for whatever she was looking for suddenly gave way for a victorious look, the woman’s eyes moving towards Helen’s as she pressed the button she had just found. Her eyes didn’t leave Helen’s, even as the Super’s moved towards the Screenslaver’s diagram once more, watching how it disappeared as it slid to a side, revealing an elevator-like cubicle that was hidden right behind it, that portion of the wall being actually a slide-door only accessible by the touch of that hidden button.

_She totally did that on purpose; lining it up with the Screenslaver's drawing._

Evelyn walked into it, turning to look at Helen with a delighted look in her eye, the woman still gaping at the unexpected, _little_ secret.

Helen stole a glance to Evelyn’s face, finally looking at her instead of ogling at the mysterious, small lift.

She immediately regretted it.

Evelyn’s expression triggered that Superheroine side of hers. It made the alarms inside her brain go off, screaming at her that the woman was dangerous; a threat to her very own life.

Her whole body tensed up when she realized that Evelyn had never been in full control; not back in the jail, not back in their house, not at Edna’s, with all of her machinery working for her…

…She was in control _now,_ in whatever place was hidden in the DevTech tower, this one being the only road that would take them to it.

Her gut told her to refuse, to tell her to stop mocking around so that they could get down to business, but-

Evelyn raised a brow, her head falling to a side as she asked, “So? What are we waiting for, here?”

But if she had been stupid enough to make a deal with her, then she could be stupid enough to follow her blindly, too.

So Helen stepped into the small elevator, not breaking eye contact with Evelyn as the doors closed, the light vanishing, leaving them in an almost pitch black darkness.

Helen didn’t know she was claustrophobic.

She could feel Evelyn pressed against her just as much as she couldn’t, the numbing effect darkness had on her visuals sending all of her other senses into overdrive, ironically making them unresponsive, too, for they felt everything that was going on around her in a distorted way.

But that was, unmistakably so, Evelyn’s breath on her ear.

“Didn’t figure you as one afraid of the dark, Elastigirl.”

She was purposely speaking with that low, husky voice, Helen swore.

“I’m not afraid of the dark.”

She hadn’t meant to speak in the same manner, but she did.

She heard the chuckle _too close._

“Then why are you breathing faster?”

Helen didn’t mean to bite her own tongue like that.

And she wanted to say something back, but the lift that had curiously travelled down, she noticed, abruptly stopped, almost making her lose her footing.

“We’re almost there,” Evelyn sentenced as the doors opened once more, a faint, blueish light illuminating enough that Helen could see her face again.

It was too close for her own liking. And it still looked as intimidating as before.

If not more.

But then there was an instant switch as the woman slowly turned, getting out of the lift.

She saw how that cannibalistic expression morphed into something calmer, something relaxed, at ease.

Still in control, but with a looser leash.

And Helen felt herself breathing again.

As if the imaginary leash had been on her neck, all along.

She felt a sudden chill creeping up her spine.

“Mind your footing,” Evelyn called as Helen got out of the lift, the room still being too dark for her to see anything. “We’ve got to walk down some stairs, now.”

_Stairs?_

She focused on the ground, trying to see them, only managing to make them out thanks to the faint glow above her head.

Evelyn monitored her doing so, until she reached the conclusion that the woman may be flexible, but she didn’t have night vision.

So she placed her hand on the other woman’s back.

“What are you doing.”

It hadn’t been a question.

“It’s too dark; you won’t make it without tripping without my help.”

Helen closed her eyes for a brief second.

She felt a shiver run down her spine.

_It’s because it’s cold in here._

Slowly, they made their way down.

It was a rather long set of stairs.

Evelyn found her footing with ease, while Helen struggled a bit for a few moments.

“How can you do this so effortlessly?” She asked the younger woman, trying to ignore the warm hand pressed against her back, guiding her in the dark.

She felt more than saw Evelyn shrug. “I’ve walked down these stairs many times, so I’m blaming muscle memory.”

They fell silent.

The auburn haired woman thought that it probably was the first time she felt comfortable in it, though.

_Well, no, that’s not true._

_I didn’t mind the quietness of last night._

Which took her mind in another direction, the statement escaping her lips before she could stop it.

“You’re a light sleeper.” She mused out loud and she felt Evelyn’s eyes darting towards her face, so she added. “I woke you up when I stepped on your note, didn’t I?”

Evelyn chuckled lowly. “You did.”

“It surprises me, to be honest.”

“What thing?”

“That you’re a light sleeper, considering how little you sleep and how much you seem to need it.” She commented, referencing the seemingly constant darkness underneath her eyes.

“I used to be the opposite.” The air changed as Evelyn smiled, “Snores and all.”

Helen smiled, too. “And what provoked such a change?”

“Prison.”

And that sole word was heavily loaded.

Silence.

Then,

“Did something happen?”

Evelyn thought for some seconds.

They were already halfway down.

“Some incidents did take place, yeah.”

And she offered nothing else.

Helen wanted to know. Wanted to ask.

She decided to file it for later, though, bringing it up when she deemed it right, another thought taking over her mind, making her battle with herself as she analyzed whether she should bring it up or not.

_I mean, come on, if she behaves like this around me…_

“I did mean it; you know?” She finally said after doubting it for a while. “Back in the house?” She added, for context.

But Evelyn was oblivious. Knowing her, though, Helen knew she was just faking it. “What thing?”

_That I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you and what you said to me._

“That you’re always right.” She settled for saying, instead.

“Oh,” Evelyn reacted, chuckling a bit. “Really?”

Helen made a hum of agreement.

“Well, that’s funny.”

Helen frowned. “Why?”

Did Evelyn’s thumb move on her back? She wasn’t sure.

“Because you lied to me afterwards.”

She tried to follow Evelyn’s train of thought, but failed. “How so?”

And this time, she _definitely_ felt it move, for Evelyn had applied pressure onto the gesture.

“Because you said you hated me and I said you didn’t, at all.”

Helen decided not to respond, hugging herself instead.

_Did it just get colder?_

She was startled by Evelyn’s voice, feeling as if it was louder than ever, her ears not adjusted to the silence, the overstimulation provoked by the her temporarily impaired sight. “Though, if I’m honest, I think you _will_ hate me after this.”

She didn’t like the sound of that. “What? Why?”

_After what?_

“Has it never occurred to you that, perhaps, you _had been_ to my true lab, already?”

And it took Helen a moment to make sense of the words spilled out so carelessly by Evelyn, the woman realizing where they were headed to only after reaching the end of the stairs, both women on the outer side of that freezing chamber Evelyn had caught Helen in, so many nights ago.

There was still ice on the ground, on the other side of the glass wall.

Helen felt dizzy.

The temperature had, in fact, dropped.

She could feel herself slowly started to freeze up.

_Damn you._

“Wait a second,” Evelyn breathed out, quickly walking away from Helen for a moment.

Some seconds passed and seemingly out of nowhere, the Super heard machine sounds, as if the room they were currently in were spurring back to life after being asleep for too long. Warm colored, dim lights that were spread all around the laboratory slowly turned on, allowing for Helen to take a good look at the room, without the light being too intrusive, the warmth of the reddish hues offering a relaxing, calm ambient.

The ladder led down to a hallway that circled the big, freezing chamber in the middle, the glass wall forming a perfect circle. The external wall, the one that flanked the hallway’s other side, had a control panel for the laboratory’s central machinery on its’ end, right behind the ladder, but only accessible if one made their way towards it, circling the chamber.

Right before it, there was a closed door. There was nothing else, apart from that.

The insides of the chamber could not be seen, for the ice inside of it, despite still being there, had thawed a bit, the steam in which the water had turned after melting off creating a fog of battle like atmosphere, tarnishing the glass and making it impossible to peep through it.

Helen saw as Evelyn hurriedly walked back to her. “I turned the heat on, but it will take a while for it to warm up the place.” She said, looking into Helen’s pupils as they came face to face, unable to miss the darkness that drowned the usual light of her brown eyes.

“The freezing chamber, really?”

She tried to joke as she usually would, though. “You have to stop calling it the _freezing chamber,_ Helen.” She began, turning and slowly walking, certain that the woman was following. A crazy idea wormed its’ way into her brain. “What, do you think I _built_ this place _just_ to catch you and let out my _villainous monologue_ on you?” She cast a glance over her shoulder. “Do you really think I’m _that_ dramatic?”

Evelyn’s mouth went dry, though, when she saw that Helen’s dark expression had morphed into something raillery as the Super said, “Well, you _did_ confess that you’re a failed actress with a love for drama, didn’t you?”

And that had Evelyn stopping dead on her tracks, turning around to face Helen.

The Super allowed herself to stop walking only when they close enough she could feel the other woman’s body heat radiating off of her.

“I’m _so glad_ that we’re back on this level, _Elastigirl._ ” Evelyn said, indicating to the times right before her betrayal.

The hint of a genuine smile on her face.

“Me too, Evelyn. Me too.”

And they stood there for a solid minute, Evelyn studying Helen, her eyes roaming up and down, as if the woman refused to allow a detail to escape her clinical eye.

There was nothing she hadn’t seen before; the crinkles around the other woman’s eyes, the only hint of how old she actually was; the carefully styled hair that seemed to be on fire, the lights’ faint glow making it stand out more than usual.

The coolness inside her eyes as she, for the first time since they met, allowed for the scrutiny of the engineer, the inventor, the _genius_ to take place. Consented it.

The arms, crossed, laying against her chest, gripping at each other with an intensity that betrayed the otherwise relaxed demeanor of the woman in front of her; the thin shirt she was wearing.

Evelyn was no fool; the woman was _actually_ calm. She was just cold.

She automatically suppressed a smirk, provoked by the new social experiment that had just popped up inside her mind.

She woman, who had a fiery passion for science, thought about it for a minute; she had the test subject in front of her, had her inner scientist at the ready, she even had the tools she needed, already prepared.

_It’s just for science._

“Raise your arms.”

Helen frowned. “What for?”

It was as if she had been expecting that order. She didn’t question where it came from, only where it went to.

Evelyn rolled her eyes, cocking her hip and letting her head fall to that same side. “Oh come on, Parr,” She drawled out. “It’s not like I’m going to maim you or anything. I’m just asking you to raise your arms.”

Helen doubted because _Why the hell would she want me to do that?_ But slowly obliged, nonetheless.

She then found herself staring at Evelyn as she grabbed her sweater by the hem and lifted it up, releasing her body from the black material, straightening it up and tiptoeing so as to get to the height she needed, gently putting it on the taller woman.

“There,” She said, mentally noting how Helen’s cheeks got a bit red, “Now you won’t freeze up as much.” She raised a brow, “I even kept it warm for you.”

Helen looked at her with confusion in her eyes. Evelyn didn’t need her to say anything as she went on, “This lab’s lack of heat may be harmful for you, while it won’t have much effect on me.” She shrugged nonchalantly. “Seems only logical.”

But Helen was finally able to see through her speech and she permitted her mouth to blurt her thoughts out before she was actually aware of them.

“I don’t know _exactly_ what you’re doing, but I’m aware of it, Evelyn.”

Evelyn looked surprised. Helen felt like a champion every time she managed to see her expression contorted in that way.

But that look left as fast as it came, as that devilish smirk reappeared, “What am I doing?”

“You’ve changed the way you handle yourself around me.”

Her head lolled to a side, again. “How so?”

And Helen realized what Evelyn had been doing right at the same time as she said it, “You’ve gravitated closer to me. Closer than ever.”

Evelyn’s droopy eyes were full of life with the mirth that shone in them.

“Well, it’s your fault, Elastigirl.”

Helen crossed her arms in front of herself, trying her best to ignore the wool above her exposed skin. “Why would that be?”

Evelyn walked three steps away from her, then rested her back against the glass wall, mimicking Helen as she crossed her arms, too, her forearms exposed, for her striped shirt’s sleeves had been rolled up to her elbows, at some point. “Because _you’ve_ changed _your_ behavior around me after that little speech, back in the house. Spitting out your thoughts instead of trying to hide them and failing miserably, your own body betraying you.” She raised a brow. “Not only are you flexible, you’re also very _expressive.”_

Evelyn turned around, idly inspecting the walls to her sides, the ceiling very high above her head, her hands finding each other behind her back. “With this new course of action that you’re taking, you’ve become rather unpredictable for me.” She smiled, even though Helen couldn’t see it. “And that’s _stimulating_ my mind _so much.”_

She turned around, her arms still behind her. “I’m glad you’re _finally_ being honest with me; it means I can step up the game a bit, take it to a more _physical level,_ testing for just how high you’ve set the bar, now.”

She stalked he way towards Helen, who listened with a serious face. “I’ll admit, _this_ is a game I didn’t think I’d be able to play with you again, after what happened between us.” She stopped in front of Helen. “I’ll also admit I’m _thrilled.”_

Helen just had one thought in mind. “And when will _you_ be honest _with me?_ ”

She hadn’t expected for Evelyn’s expression to soften.

“I’ve been honest with you since the very beginning, Helen. I may have been teasing you, but I’ve never lied. It’s just a matter of what you choose to see and what you choose to ignore.”

The knowing look in Evelyn’s eyes immediately told Helen where she was going to with her words.

“By choosing to see what you once ignored, it’s like I’m becoming a stranger again, but I’m still the same me, Parr.”

_I never lied to you. You’re aware of that._

And so their game got too intense for Helen to handle.

She had too many things to think about. Things she needed to work out alone.

And Evelyn was standing far too close.

“We need to talk about Ro-”

But a long yawn cut her off as it pushed its' way through her words, out of her mouth.

It hadn’t caught the inventor by surprise.

"You need to rest."

Without another word, Evelyn turned around and walked. Helen somehow figured she should follow.

They reached that door that had been closed, Evelyn opening it with the turn of a knob, for a change. Behind it, a dim lit bedroom appeared, a king size bed against a wall, nightstands to each side, a small, wooden desk right in front of it, many books scattered all around.

_Evelyn’s bedroom._

“You can sleep in my bed; we'll talk about the whole Rogue thing tomorrow.”

Helen didn’t want the words to escape her mouth, this time, but they did so anyways.

“I’m not sleeping with you.”

And this time, Evelyn _did_ look surprised.

“I never said we would sleep together.”

Helen tried to regain her composure, tried to conceal her mistake, “But where would you sleep?”

Evelyn still looked bewildered. “I wasn’t planning to; I was going to clean this mess of a laboratory.”

“I,” _How the fuck do I get out of this one?_ “I just thought,” _Come on, Elastigirl, think, for once in your life!_ “I was only-“

There was no answer coming to her, whatsoever.

So Helen opted for doing what Elastigirl would do.

Spring into action.

She quickly made her way into the room, screeching out a quick “ _Goodnight,”_ before closing the door behind her with a loud bang, leaving Evelyn on its’ other side, being the one thrown for a loop, this time.

Helen could hear a loud laugh coming from the other side of the door.

_“It’s almost noon, Helen.”_

“I said _goodnight_.”

But Evelyn stood still on the other side of the door, curious about the woman that had just robbed her of her bed.

A slow smile crept up her lips.

She turned around and walked towards the end of the hallway, finding the division in the glass wall that indicated the entrance to the inner chamber of her laboratory.

Bracing herself for the freezing cold, she opened it, ready to slowly, but surely, bring it back to its’ original form.

Much like what seemed to have happened between Elastigirl and herself.

_No, not Elastigirl._

_Helen._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Clarke aka Bakedgarnet, I can't believe you singlehandedly managed to get me to write this much just with the sheer strength of my desire to repay you for such a glorious one shot. Congratulations, you cunning bastard.
> 
> (I luv u)


	10. Frame by frame

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Evelyn's left to her own devices, until Helen returns to her, pointing out something they had missed.

Her breathing had grown ragged, her body covered with a thin layer of sweat.

Evelyn had been cleaning the inner chamber of her laboratory for quite a while, now. She inspected the watch strapped to her right wrist; it told her it was evening, already and, according to her calculations, Autumn’s dusk was probably taking place as she thought.

Her body heat rising, the physical demand of her just performed task catching up with her and breaking through the cold’s spell, Evelyn undid the second and third buttons of her shirt, the warmth being far too high for her liking, as she had always been more sensitive to hot weathers than cold ones.

Perhaps that’s why she didn’t mind the freezing chambers temperature that much.

_Or maybe it’s just my cold, frozen heart._

She chuckled.

_I’m so funny._

The ice was completely gone, as if it had never been there, in the first place. There wasn’t even a water drop on the ground, for Evelyn had cleaned it all out, drying her laboratory’s core up, moving piece after piece of metal right back to its’ original position, places that the mechanical things hadn’t occupied since before the whole _kidnapping Elastigirl’s_ incident

Unlike the laboratory above the ground, high in the tower, there was no chair in this one, save for the one in her room; the inner chamber offered a loveseat, though. Big, intimidating scrapped parts of different, humongous creations laid around, along with her most specific tools and some safety gear, like gloves and a welding mask, which usually laid dangerously close to her blowtorch.

But she had a guest, now. An actually invited guest, so she took care of tidying up her mess.

As soon as one got into the inner chamber, to their left was a big, wardrobe-like metal compartment, filled with all of her tools instruments and utensils. Right next to it, scrapped parts of the Elasticycle.

Also pushed against the glass wall was the loveseat; a small coffee table right in front of it, hypno-goggles scattered all over it. To the settee’s side, a drink dispenser which, with the touch of a button, could bring her anything from the building constructed above them; from a martini to black coffee, literally anything.

Finally, there was a small desk-like surface coming out of the glass wall, held in place only by its’ union to it, a second control panel displayed on it. Evelyn approached it, a smile of familiarity on her lips as her brain made its’ unavoidable road down her memories, the woman remembering exactly what each button would do.

The control panel was specifically to alter the inner chamber’s layout, it being completely separated from the hallway all around it, the bedroom to its’ side, the ring-like structure being independent of the DevTech tower in its’ entirety.

Evelyn pressed a button and the glass wall that surrounded her suddenly became luminous glowing a faint blue, revealing itself to be a screen instead of simple crystal.

Several different options were displayed in front of her; the chance to access DevTech’s files, her own, private archive, the NSA’s records… Anything she had ever worked on, everything she had learned and known throughout her life.

The true lab was the physical manifestation of her labyrinthine mind.

She pressed button after button, going through several different choices until she found the one that she had been looking for and commanded her lab to fulfill the task. Immediately after that, the literal center of the room, the heart of the inner chamber, rotated to its’ right. When it was halfway through, the circular structure descended into the darkness, leaving an empty frame behind.

After some seconds of waiting and the whirring of her laboratory’s engines, something slowly reappeared from the empty shape on the ground, filling it as if it were a puzzle and this was the missing puzzle piece.

Only, this time, it wasn’t simple ground.

A storage chamber appeared in the middle of the chamber, containing a halfway-done jumpsuit.

Evelyn watched as, behind it, from her point of view, the words _Winston’s Birthday Gift_ appeared. Underneath it, how long ago she had visited this prototype; _A year and a half ago._

Before the whole _Let’s make Supers legal again_ idiocy.

She never even managed to finish it.

“Pity,” she mumbled, frowning as she remembered the stupid, international agreement to legalize supers’ activity again and how her brother’s desire to take part in it had made her look away from this project, forcing her to work in one she had never felt any passion for.

Not that she hated Supers; it wasn’t like that. She just didn’t trust them; they were the biggest liars, to her eyes, for they were always pretending to do good just for the sake of doing so and it infuriated her that nobody but her seemed to look through the thinly veiled lie, seeing their true colors; whatever they did, they did it for recognition, fame, praise; instant gratification and reward.

What she did hate about them, though, was the mind-numbing effect their deeds had on the public; how the flashy suits, the toothy smiles, the heroic speeches and the unnecessarily dangerous feats idiotized the masses.

Forget about film industry; they were the new opium of the people.

She hated humanity’s stupidity and lack of independence, how they all seemed to be cows meekly watching the train go by; men, women, people in between and nowhere in the spectrum at all were allowing life to go by, refusing to live it, opting to watch it through a squared screen, instead.

And Supers were the living proof of it, as they had inevitably become the final safety blanket people needed to free themselves from the responsibility of taking care of themselves and each other.

_Let other do the job, let other take care of it, let me be oblivious, blissfully ignorant of it, sedated into a life of sedentary ways and conformism by the mass media and their never-ending displays of fiction, presented as it is and as reality, too._

And that wasn’t even the sore spot.

The real sore spot was that the woman, due to life’s own, dark, twisted sense of humor, had unironically ended being one of the two faces of the biggest telecommunications company in the whole wide world, not only being the brains behind the spokesman, but also being naturally good at her job, condemned to love exactly what she had tried to fight against.

_We’re the bread and circus of the country; my brother providing the circus, yours truly providing the bread._

She didn’t necessarily hate technology, either; given the right use, being responsible and understanding that the living being should be in control, instead of the lifeless machine, technology _could_ be put to good use, but people simply weren’t like that.

They weren’t like her.

Evelyn was growing frustrated by the minute, her own thoughts gnawing at her mind and driving her into psychiatric insanity with the sheer difficulty she was presented with when it came to explaining the abstract concept that kept her up at night, scheming plan after plan, pushing the cogs inside her brain to the limit as she scratched it in search of a solution to a problem she hadn’t been able to solve.

_Yet._

She had a new tool in her kit. A Super tool.

One she’d put to use.

_Once I help her._

Evelyn hadn’t been aware of how her nails dug into the desk behind her, her hands braced on it, propping her up, until she accidentally brushed one of the sensitive buttons, willing the storage chamber to leave the room, the circular trapdoor-like panel going back to its’ rightful place, the unexpected movements making the mad inventor flinch, the small scare making her heart beat faster for a second.

She sighed, becoming alert again at the sound of her stomach growling at her. Turning around, she typed quick commands for her laboratory’s AI to follow, turning the screens off, the glass wall becoming transparent again and making the dispenser to the loveseat’s side bring her some food instead of a drink, for a change.

 _Well, why_ instead _when it could be_ with a side of?

The small structure, alike an empty bedside table, disappeared as it lowered itself into the ground, reappearing after a brief moment, a gargantuan bunch of grapes next to a bottle of wine, both on top of the structure’s surface, exactly what the inventor had asked for, preferring her favorite snack instead of an actual meal, prepared and all.

The inventor walked to the couch and took a seat right next to her treat, kicking out her footwear and bringing her legs up on the settee, the limbs laying idly below her and to her side as she poured herself a glass of wine and ripped a few grapes from the branch that linked them.

Allowing herself the indulgence, she let her eyes flutter shut as she popped one of the fruits into her mouth, biting down gently, a hum of delight escaping her throat; It had been a long time since she ate something so sweet.

Minutes blended into each other and passed by without the Deavor sister noticing or even caring as she immersed herself in her sense of taste’s ability to make her feel pleasure.

_The taste buds on my tongue perceive the flavor delivered by the grapes’ juice as a stimuli, a positive one, sending said intel to my brain as a collection of data that travels through my body like electric currents, my brain processing it and responding by producing and releasing oxytocin into my bloodstream._

_Or, alternatively;_

_Instant gratification provided by the pleasure that the simple act of feeding myself can provoke in me, stress washed away by the satisfaction._

_Not like I was_ that _stressed to begin with, though._

Biology, psychology, science in itself; it had been Evelyn’s frustrated career choice, the more humanly focused ones coming as close seconds and thirds to Engineering, Industrial Design and Computer Science as possible. Still, she couldn’t bring herself to drop the subject and let it go; her desire to hoard as much knowledge and wisdom about as many different topics as possible emphasizing her stubbornness, fueling her love for learning, pushing her to at least read a bit about the things she hadn’t mastered.

A dreamy sigh escaped her lips. That was one thing she found herself missing about being in jail, much to her own disbelief. Surely, she didn’t miss the place itself; the constant paranoia, the impossible distance set between her and her technology, the danger that threatened her life, her wellbeing, at every turn of a corner, the ever looming promise of a shiv to her side-

She flinched at that thought. That experience _had_ been painful enough to leave mental scars, apart from the physical one, the mere thought of a shiv making her body go into survival mode, flooding her veins with adrenaline, anticipation kicking in even if there was no real danger around her.

 _Yes_ , she thought, a bewildered look in her eye, the brunette not restraining herself, being far more expressive than she usually was when in Helen’s company. _I definitely don’t miss all that. Not even a little bit._

What she _did_ miss, though, was the unending free time and the unlimited liberty inmates had in terms of expanding their conversance; Evelyn was certain the inmates in charge of the prison’s library were already acquainted with her face.

She downed the wine, a finely aged Pinot Noir that left a bitter, dry aftertaste as it cleansed her tongue from the grapes’ sweetness, the reddish liquid warming up her throat as it made it to her belly.

Instead of popping another grape into her mouth, the musing inventor picked at the grape’s skin with her teeth, her tongue coming out from between her teeth and lips, catching it in its’ moist texture and hiding away again, the brunette pressing the grape’s skin against the roof of her mouth before finally swallowing it down.

Her daydreaming came to an abrupt end, though, as she absentmindedly opened her mouth, her tongue slowly catching the grape from between her fingers when her eyes wandered around upon sensing movement and she came to make eye contact with Helen, who stared unashamedly.

Well, she couldn’t tell if it was unashamedly; the woman had zoned out, apparently.

Evelyn somehow had the mind to remember that she had her shirt halfway unbuttoned.

She felt her cheeks heat up even more than they already were.

_Blame it on the alcohol._

Evelyn’s critical eye went over the image in front of her in less than a second;

Her hair was chaotically messy, the strands of hair that hung from her right temple completely ignoring the rules of gravity as they stood on end, looking like a cow had just licked it upwards. Her arms hung limply to her sides, the oversized sweater Evelyn had lent her being big even for her, the sleeves managing to cover her palms, her fingers being the only thing between the waves of thick, black wool.

Her eyes were puffy with sleep, though the brown of her eyes was as lucid as it could be.

Definitely, the view she had from the other side of the glass wall was enough to pull her away from sleep’s claws.

The frustrated scientist focused on how those pupils darted from one point to other, presumably taking in different things. And, judging by the positions they occupied for brief moments before darting onto another place, Helen was staring at three things;

Firstly, Evelyn’s fingers, where the grape had just been.

Secondly, Evelyn’s cleavage, which had been highlighted by the new depth it had been given, without the imprisonment of the buttons.

Lastly, Evelyn’s mouth.

_Try not to find it all very interesting._

_Fail miserably._

“Good morning,” Evelyn said, changing her course of action as she solved the puzzle of how to proceed inside her mind, opting for a faked nonchalance.

_I’ve been caught like this; I might as well pretend I don’t mind it._

“Good morning,” Helen surprisingly responded, walking alongside the glass wall until she reached its’ opening, getting into the inner chamber and letting her eyes wander around the place before settling on Evelyn’s exquisite figure again. “I see you’ve been busy.”

Evelyn shrugged. “I decided it was time to clean up the mess. Did you sleep well?”

Helen nodded, her eyes still impossibly fixed on that visible collarbone, the image of Evelyn’s pink tongue claiming that grape still ironed to the inner side of her eyelids.

If Evelyn asked, she would claim the cold caused her blush.

 _Never mind that it’s not_ that _cold, anymore._

It was still cold enough that she appreciated the sweater, though.

Evelyn poured herself some wine, “Do you want some?” She asked Helen as she stood in front of her. “There’s some fruit, too, in case you’re hungry.”

“I’ll take you up on the food.”

And the response had Evelyn setting down the wine bottle, looking at Helen out of perked interest.

There was a certain weight to how she pitched her words…

With her poker face on, Evelyn brought her feet back to the ground, silently inviting Helen to sit next to her.

The woman followed.

_Interesting._

_Will look into this, further on._

Then the game was finished, as Evelyn handed Helen the bowl of grapes, the woman cradling it with an arm, picking the berries she’d eat with her other hand’s fingers, while Evelyn swirled the liquid inside her glass, studying it a bit.

“Are you still cold?” She asked, out of the blue.

Helen nodded. “A bit.”

“You’re very sensitive to low temperatures.”

“I am.” Helen repeated, nodding her head as she stared off into space, popping a grape into her mouth, chewing it and swallowing it down before adding, ”You’re more on the other end of the spectrum, I can see.”

And it was all Evelyn could do not to gape at her.

 _That one had been_ aggressive, _Parr._

She would let it pass, though. If only for professionalism’s sake.

“How awake are you, right now?”

“Plenty. Why?”

“Because we should start addressing the obvious elephant in the room.”

Helen frowned.

Evelyn looked at her with a bored expression. “Rogue…?”

“Oh, _her.”_

And the calmness that they had been able to share in quiet agreement kind of faded away, leaving room for a certain electricity, the air around them tensing up as Evelyn hunched forwards, her forearms on her thighs, glass of wine between her hands, Helen’s fingers idly playing with the remaining grapes inside the bowl, both wearing an expression of concentration that had them frowning.

“Well, whatever she does,” Helen began, “It must have something to do with mind control, doesn’t it?”

“I don’t know,” Evelyn said and the actual uncertainty on her tone made Helen’s fears slowly crawl their way back into her brain. “There’s something strange about her.”

“What do you mean?”

Evelyn laid back against the backrest, allowing for a sip of wine to flood her mouth, swallowing it before continuing, “Didn’t you notice how she talked to Voyd? As if she could _convince her_ of turning to her side?” She asked, flashing her eyes at Helen, a raised brow in silent question, one of her hands holding the glass still against her bottom lip.

Helen considered her words for a second, uncaringly looking from where the glass pressed to her lip to the woman’s blue eyes. “She did sound like that.”

Evelyn shook her head. “I don’t know. I’ve been giving it a few turns inside my mind and _yes,_ mind control seems to be a potential power, the way how Robert attacked you-“

And Evelyn pointedly ignored the pain that flashed through Helen’s eyes, turning to look ahead instead of at the woman-

“-being a painfully obvious indicator of it, but there’s something _else_ coming into play _,”_ And there was a fire in her eyes, started by her own frustration, when she looked into Helen’s again and added, “I can _feel it.”_

Helen looked up at the ceiling, still lost in her own thoughts about the whole subject. “Mind control, but a certain level of persuasion.”

“Exactly,” Evelyn said, as if Helen had just said the words she had been looking for inside her mind. She sighed, then, digging her free hand’s elbow on her knee, resting her face on her palm as she said, “I will admit that the fact that we don’t even have a visual depiction of her thwarts me.”

Helen remained quiet, a blaring alarm going inside her mind, telling her to _pay attention_ at something, but not exactly at what.

Then, as if a lightbulb had just turned on in her brain,

“Have you tried checking Voyd’s camera feed?”

Evelyn slowly looked up from her hand at, absently leaving her glass on the small nightstand like structure to her side.

The intense gaze made Helen feel a bit nervous, so she felt the need to explain her reasoning. “I mean, surely, He-Lectrix fried her suit’s camera, but perhaps it caught sight of Rogue before-“

And then Evelyn was laughing gleefully.

“Helen Parr you fucking _genius!”_ She said, her voice gradually raising as the woman placed her hands on each side of Helen’s face, excitement making her squish her cheeks a bit. “How did _I_ not _think_ about it?!”

She stood up then, completely oblivious to the flustered look on Helen’s face at both the physical contact and the compliment, as she moved towards her desk and looked for the backup files of her dismantled laboratory.

Just as Evelyn had predicted, there it was; Voyd’s camera feed.

She selected it, the video plastering itself to the glass walls all around her, the image infinitely repeating itself in medium sized, squared framed pictures, one right next to the other.

She felt Helen stand up and daintily move to her side.

Thus she pressed play.

She skipped the lengthiest part of the video feed, feeling the need to let it run at normal speed since the moment she had taken control over Voyd, but purposefully skipping that part too, sparing Helen from having to see Mr. Incredible more than what was actually necessary.

She slowed it down as she saw the flashed image of He-Lectrix being dumped on the collapsing ceiling.

It was something magical, Evelyn decided, to see one’s own self replicated in the form light pulses, the different intensities drawing out the colors and outlines of themselves until one became oblivious to the fact that it was just light, its’ version of oneself becoming as real as their own skin and flesh.

Helen thought so, too, but she was used to it, by then. After all, she had been Elastigirl for quite a long time and Elastigirl had been part of the television’s star system for practically her entire life, too.

So Helen didn’t stare in awe at her ethereal, small sized replica, like Evelyn did. She used a concerned frown, instead.

They watched as Mr. Incredible charged like a furious bull towards Helen, her body limp with the pain of his previous blow, until two portals opened to each of her sides, a blurry figure coming out of one of them, only to rapture Elastigirl, taking her in her own arms and stealing her away, as if they were actresses in a play and the portal closing behind them was simply the final curtain, coming to hide them from the World.

Then, they watched as Voyd collapsed, her body falling to the ground as she fainted, the camera going dark as it got caught between the Super’s body and the ground, not enough light available for the image to be clear.

Then the light reached the camera again, for someone seemed to be turning Voyd onto her back.

And just as Helen had predicted, there she was.

Evelyn immediately froze the image as a woman appeared on the frame.

Short, blonde hair, adorned her head like a lion’s short mane, some kind of gel making it look wet and spiky. Her left temple had been shaved and all of her hair had been pushed to her right one, emphasizing the bald area of her skull.

But it wasn’t the uncanny hairstyle what caught their attention.

It was her eyes.

Narrowed a bit, looking as threatening as a serpent’s hiss would sound, light blue eyes that might as well have been white looked into Voyd’s lifeless face, something sinister and angry shining in them, the smirk that adorned her features being devoid of any actual happiness or joy, looking more like cruelty in the shape of meekness; a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

Helen’s eyes remained glued to the screen, the woman focused on taking in her every feature, trying to memorize her face.

Evelyn didn’t. She needn’t to.

The fact that she remembered having seen her somewhere was enough to stun her into silence, for a brief moment.

She had seen her before; that was for sure. And it was enough for her.

She quickly recovered, though, feeling the need to acknowledge Helen’s quick thinking.

“I’ve got to give it to you, Parr.” She said, a slow nod of her head. “You’ve got talent for this.”

Helen chuckled. “Thank you, I try to keep up with you.”

Evelyn looked at her, that wolfish smirk in place, “I think you should be rewarded in some way.”

And Evelyn had half a mind not to be taken aback by the sudden, “And how do you think we’re doing that?” that Helen blurted out, without giving it a second thought, the woman horrified by her own words.

Evelyn started the search inside her brain for a quick, response, indecisive of whether she should spit back a witty, snarky response or if she should acknowledge the fact that what Helen had just said might as well been insinuation.

Luckily —or not —, A third response appeared for her to use as a small window popped into her screens.

She opened it with the press of a button.

It was a message from Edna.

_How long are you two going to make me wait?_

Evelyn smiled a tight lipped smile, her droopy eyes lazily settling over Helen’s full frame as she raised a brow and said, “How about a new Super suit?”

Helen smiled back, the answer coming out as a real surprise, but giving the woman some room to breathe, something she was grateful for.

Even if she was dying inside with the desire to know what Evelyn’s actual response would have been.

“Let’s go pay E another visit.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1K VIEWS? Damn y'all, you deserve 2 updates instead of 1 today.
> 
> EDIT: I'm aware of some spelling mistakes or whatever lmfao, apologies I was too excited to upload and forgot to PROPERLY proofread. Oops!


	11. Something bold and stylish

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Evelyn and Helen pay Edna a visit. A new vigilante takes matters into her own hands.

“I still don’t get why we couldn’t just call the Incredibile and go to Edna’s place on it. I mean, come on, it’s dark, already.”

The wind picked up a bit, making Helen hug her own frame, her fingers losing themselves in between the strands of wool, finding the holes in the pattern and gently burying themselves in them. “Because her building’s just five blocks away, Deavor.” She rolled her eyes. “You can’t be _that_ lazy.”

Evelyn raised her brows, her droopy eyes remaining intact by the gesture. “It’s not laziness.”

“Then, what is it?”

Evelyn looked at her, caught sight of the woman’s arms and shrugged, her face morphing into a look of faux confusion. “No clue!” She exclaimed, pointing at the obvious, chilly, autumn wind by ignoring its’ obvious presence.

Helen groaned. “You’re impossible.”

The brunette looked around frantically, as if she could hear something and were trying to locate it. “And _there it is;_ the strange feeling of a déjà vu, yet again.” Her frantic search stopped dead on its’ tracks as she found Helen’s eyes, a wild look on her face as she asked her, “Did we press rewind?”

Helen tried to contain it, but the laugh bubbled up its’ way through her throat and out her mouth. “Maybe we did.” And she couldn’t keep the smirk from her face, battling it as she tried to reach for her most serious, focused frown as she stated, “I’m positive we did.”

She looked away afterwards; she couldn’t deal with whatever had been in Evelyn’s eyes.

The night’s atmosphere was filled with the city’s sounds; they were in the heart of Metroville, after all. Cars sped up on the street to their left, their lights blending into furious red and yellowish lines of light, stuck in time and space.

Evelyn watched them with keen eyes, trying to tell the moment each speck of light made it to its concrete place in plane. Her eyes then wandered towards the sky; it was dark enough, no star to be seen against it, the inventor inculpating the city’s light pollution for that one.

But then her pupils moved away from the darkness above her head, hunting for the streetlights and the buildings that shone so bright, scattered all around her, the woman pinning them against the sky, the electricity that set them ablaze replacing the stars it had been stolen of.

She would have been surprised, had she known she was being watched and hadn’t even sensed it.

“Evelyn?”

She came crashing down back to the ground, pulled away from her reverie. “Hm?” She hummed, tearing her eyes away from the scenery and placing them on Helen.

“Remember what you said after rescuing me?” Helen inquired, the fact that she had offhandedly admitted to being saved by the engineer taking the brunette aback; it had been completely out of the blue.

“I’ve said many things.” Evelyn drawled out, willing Helen to understand that she’d need her to get more specific.

“About it all being a trap?”

Recognition shone in those blue eyes. “Oh, yes. What about it?”

“How did you know?”

“Know what?”

Helen glared at her. “How did you know it was a trap?”

“Because of how the stage was set.”

Her glare turned into a frown. “How so?”

“The father of the family was separated from the rest of them.”

Helen remembered that much, but it hadn’t created the impression on her that it had been _that_ important. “So?”

Evelyn frowned, as if she couldn’t believe that the Super wasn’t perceiving the strangeness of the picture. Truth be told, though, she could find it possible that Helen hadn’t noticed what was going on at the time; she had been acting out of instinct, spurred into action by a force deep inside her that not even the auburn haired woman was aware of. She was just trying to rile her up.

It didn’t seem to have an effect, anymore.

“They had the father on a phone, on a direct line.”

It didn’t make sense. “What? They were letting him call a Super?” A nod from Evelyn. “Why would they? It would interfere with their plans.”

“But what were their plans, exactly?” Evelyn mused out loud, inviting Helen to think it out with her.

“They said something about children over the communicator.”

“Might as well have been a _keep everyone hostage, children included_ kind of order coming from _Seb.”_ The inventor deduced, surprising Elastigirl with the detail that she still remembered the thug’s name. “As soon as I saw they were forcing the father to use his direct line, I tried to warn you about it, but-“

“I’m sorry about that.”

It took Evelyn by surprise.

Helen looked somewhat ashamed. “I was rash and I didn’t take into consideration that perhaps you had something of value to say. Things would have gone better if I had listened, so, for that, I’m sorry.”

It didn’t sit well with Evelyn, so she resorted to her logic.

“If it weren’t for how everything resulted being in the end, we wouldn’t have Rogue’s physical appearance nor the specks of knowing in regard to her powers.” A contemplative look to her eyes, “Sure, there was a bit of a fallout-“

Helen clenched her teeth, but swallowed the need to scream at her face that Voyd was no collateral damage down.

“-but I genuinely believe that we’re in the best place we could ever be, in regards to learning more about our enemy.”

It appeared to have become personal for Evelyn, too, Helen decided, so as to explain how she talked about the manner.

“So what do you think she’s planning?”

A hum of rumination. “I can’t quite point that out, yet, but I can tell you this; whatever Rogue’s planning, she’s hunting down Supers, turning them to her side. Your emergence in that apartment just made her take a new turn, but it was basically what she was trying to do; to lure Supers in.”

So Helen summarized it out loud, “A rogue Super who’s making righteous Supers side with her, who knows for what, hunting them down, one by one.”

And the air was thick with unease as they both saw the unnerving resemblance to something that had happened between them in the past, neither of them willing to point it out.

They were a block away from Edna’s place.

“Evelyn?”

“Hm?”

“When we’re up there with her, try not to give her too much intel on Rogue.” A thought, then, “Not even her name.”

Evelyn nodded vigorously, indicating that she was already planning on that. “I’m keeping her in the dark as much as I can.”

They reached the building and walked inside, having already been cleared for entry by Edna, stepping into the luxurious lift and ascending towards the top floor; Edna’s condo.

And the silence between the two of them was comfortable enough they didn’t mind it, but something occurred to Helen that had her snorting.

“What is it?” Came the inevitable question, an amused smirk slowly creeping up on her lips.

“Nothing, nothing,” Helen said, shaking her head, “It’s just that it says so much about Edna that not even _you_ are willing to risk filling her in.”

The admission ripped a wheezed bark of a laugh off Evelyn’s throat, “Of _course_ I’m not! I could see the mirk similarity of our minds, woman!” She huffed an entertained sound, “I know I’m cruel, but even _I_ aren’t _that_ bad. The World already has enough on its’ plate with _one Evil Endeavor_ , thank you very much.”

Helen was laughing hard, “I must agree with you on that one.” She said, then fell quiet as they both calmed down, again.

A brief pause.

“Though, I must admit,” Evelyn said, her voice free of the strain of trying to keep laughter caged, returning to its’ original smoothness, “I keep entertaining the idea of teaming up with her;” And she purposefully turned to look at Helen, getting close to her ear, her words getting another meaning as she said, “There’s just so much we could do together.”

Helen was glad the elevator reached its’ destination and the doors were slowly opening, Evelyn swiftly moving away, for that had made her shiver.

They heard her before they even saw her, a loud, _darlings!_ Being heard from somewhere inside Edna’s floor.

 _“Swanky.”_ Evelyn whispered to Helen as they got out of the elevator.

And swanky, indeed, it was.

As a curious twin to Evelyn’s lab, the connotations of such discovery not going unnoticed by Helen, Edna’s place was just as big but looked just as small, the bizarelly big furniture reducing it in size.

The floor was composed of ebony black tiles, seamlessly blending onto each other, the white walls contrasting in an aesthetically pleasing way, a fireplace on the wall to their left, which had a greyish wooden sliding panel that went from the floor to the ceiling, a flat screen TV taking most of its’ surface, a squared shape cut into its’ lower half, presumably to allow the fireplace to still be available, where the panel to be covering it, a tiny button nearing its’ edge which had no apparent use. Behind such structure, coming out of the wall, several shelves stuffed with books and small statues. Right in front of it, a long, white settee and a big coffee table, which were dimly illuminated by the city lights, visible through the window on the wall furthest from them, a door leading to the master bedroom right next to it, closed.

On the area to their right, a modern-looking kitchen, with a bar-like counter and stools that seemed too high for Edna to reach, the colors as in tune with the rest of the house as Edna herself, who was wearing her usual, black attire, her cigarette holder in hand.

“Took you two long enough!” Edna said, an offended look on her face, as if she were hurt that they didn’t go straight to her after the discovery that Elastigirl’s suit was gone. “How am I supposed to work without my muses? Even Jack-Jack abandoned me, deciding a long nap is better than helping my boldness express itself.”

Evelyn’s head lolled to a side. “ _Muses?”_

Edna turned around and walked to the sofa, both women following closely. “Well, Elastigirl may be my fashion muse, but _you,_ dear, _you_ make me think of impossible things.”

There was a deadly fascination to Evelyn’s eyes, the glint of something lunatic making Helen tremble. “I didn’t know we were dirty talking already, Mode.”

“Oh, darling, wait until we make it to the pillow talk.”

“That’s an invitation, if I’ve ever heard one.”

The smirk of mischief both designers shared had Helen shaking in fear.

_It’s official; I’m terrified._

“We didn’t come here for this.” Helen interrupted, trying to change the course of the conversation.

Edna opened her mouth, ready to protest-

Evelyn let out a low whistle. “Wow, how ironic.”

And she fell right into the trap, she knew, when she asked, “What?”

“That _Elastigirl_ is such a _stiff.”_

And Helen was so taken aback by the long _Oh_ that she heard Edna holler that she couldn’t find a good way to make a comeback.

And Evelyn’s shit eating grin was ticking her nerves off.

“Okay, okay,” Edna said when she finally reigned in on her laughter. “Let’s all calm down for a second. After all, _Miss Prude_ over there is right; you _did_ come here for a different reason entirely than just suggestive talking.” A sly smirk on her lips, completely conscious of what she had just called her dearest friend, a smug look on Evelyn’s face and the silent gasp of betrayal on Helen’s.

“Don’t think I’m forgetting about this, Mode.” Evelyn said, her index finger pointing to her eye, as if telling her to watch out. “We’re returning to this interesting subject, later on.”

And the designer laughed, waving her off. “We will. Now, come here, darling.” Edna said, motioning for Helen to approach her.

Helen did so, unsure of what Edna wanted to do with her, as Evelyn just stood there, arms crossed over her body.

She took a tape measure out of her pocket and carefully extended it next to the woman’s body, taking special care of sizing up her thighs and waist, letting out some hums of deep concentration as she did so.

Her eye caught a glimpse of something, then. Something that hadn’t been there the last time she had seen Helen.

So she put the cigarette holder on her mouth, taking a drag as her hands caught fabric and inspected it, letting out, “I like your sweater, darling, but it’s the first time I see it.”

Helen’s eyes grew wide, immediately finding Evelyn’s.

The inventor was staring right back, unflinching.

“Where did you get it from?”

“From me.”

Edna turned to look at her, trying not to let her thoughts show on her face, “Question still stands; where’s it from?”

Evelyn slowly paced the room, reaching the counter and laying her back against it. “Answer still stands; me.”

“You made it?”

“Yes.”

Edna inspected the piece of clothing. “It’s very well done.”

“Thank you.”

No one dared push it further.

Helen cleared her throat. “So, Edna, where’s the big lab for suit creation in here? I don’t see-“

She was silenced by three quick taps of Edna’s hand on her leg, as the woman moved towards the grey panel and pressed the inconspicuous button, the room they were in suddenly morphing into a new, different thing.

Settee being the only thing still in place, the kitchen began to disappear into the ground, Evelyn almost falling at the unexpected movement as the counter which she was using to lay her back against slowly moved away from her.

She shot a dirty look at Helen, who was snickering at her, but didn’t do anything else about it; she guessed it was karma.

As the kitchen disappeared, a big marble table appeared, lazers and guns and things Helen couldn’t tell the name for pointing at it; it was probably for testing the suit’s efficiency. Behind it, different monitors for different factors were emitting a faint, beeping sound, as if awaiting orders, hoping to analyze the data received from the testing of the fashionable clothing made by Edna.

“You’re looking in the wrong direction, darlings.”

And so both women looked to where Edna was standing.

Edna was right; the wonderful view was to her side.

The greyish panel was gone, replaced by another one of the same nature, only it didn’t have a TV coming out of it, but a big rectangular container which, inside of its’ glass cage, held a mannequin.

And a Super suit that put Galbaki’s to shame.

It was black from head to toe, the boots and the gloves merging into the suit in such a way that one wasn’t able to tell where they began nor where the suit ended, the piece of clothing looking as one whole, unique construction.

A single, straight, white line made its’ way from the center of the suit’s high collar down to the Super’s upper chest. It then turned sharply to the left, aiming towards where the user’s heart would lay, going under the Elastigirl logo and reappearing after it, taking another sharp turn and going straight down to the suit’s left hip. Before turning to the left in a ninety degrees’ angle, disappearing from their sights as it traveled to the back, going up to the neck in the same fashion but over the right side instead, as if mirroring the work on the front, reaching its’ destination on the back of the neck’s center.

The Elastigirl Logo was right above the heart, the letters made of the same white, stamped over a neutral gray circle that contained them, putting them under a subtle spotlight.

“Taking into consideration the dark hues used in the Galbaki costume, I decided to push it a little further and take Elastigirl into a whole new scenery; the righteous vigilante.” She began to explain herself, a conceited smirk on her face as she seemed pleased with herself. “So we’ll now have the Superheroine who brings justice to the city with her looks mirroring how the city feels, breathes and behaves; darkness at the turn of every corner, with a silver lining cracking the endless void and making it through, bringing back hope to the common crowd!”

Both Evelyn and Helen were stunned into silence by the speech delivered by the fashion designer.

Evelyn spoke first.

“Then _I’m_ the unnecessarily dramatic one.”

“I live for drama, darling.”

“Now I understand why we get along _so_ well.” Evelyn breathed out automatically, making Edna shrug as if saying _What can I say?_

“Great minds think alike.”

“I don’t know,” Helen said, a frown etched upon her features as she still inspected the suit. “Don’t get me wrong, E, it’s gorgeous, but I’m not that colorless.”

“It’s a _statement,_ dear!” Edna explained, taking a drag from her cigarette before continuing. “By going back to your original logo _and_ refusing to take on any colors, you’re showing to the world that, right now, you’re a completely new, different person!” She gesticulated as she spoke. “You, Elastigirl, on a mission to rescue her loved ones. _Brilliant!”_

“And humble.” Evelyn added.

Edna shrugged her off. “I’m not going to apologize for being perfect.”

The inventor snorted and shook her head. “As expected.”

“Besides, I’m not going to make you another one. You’ll have to wear it, whether you like it or _not.”_

Evelyn lolled her head to the side in contemplation, then nodded, “She’s got a point.”

“So, come on, darling,” Edna said, taking the suit out of its’ casket and giving it to Helen, rushing her into the bedroom. “Go try it on. Don’t wake up little John!”

Helen was gone then, reluctantly getting out of her clothes before getting into the new suit, its’ zipper carefully hidden over the white line that travelled all over it.

_Such a weird design._

* * *

 

“I’ll admit the suit is of my liking, Edna.” Evelyn said, looking at Edna out of the corner of her eye. “Congratulations for such a, dare I say, _bold_ creation.”

Edna looked at Evelyn with pure vanity shining in those eyes. “What can I say? I’m just _that_ good.”

“It makes me want to sue my brother for having hired Galbaki instead of you, in the first place.”

“Oh, and you don’t even know _half_ of it, darling.” Edna said, a knowing smile on her lips. “I’m still not done demonstrating the suit’s traits.”

“I can’t wait to see what that brilliant mind of yours has come up with, Miss Mode.”

“You _will_ be impressed, Miss Deavor.”

“God, it’s like an intellectual circle-jerk in here, but between just the two of you,” Helen said as she stepped into the room, interrupting the banter the two designers were submerged in. “Cut it off.”

Edna and Evelyn both stared at her, their eyes roaming her body up and down; Edna sporting a look of pride, Evelyn’s face as unreadable as ever.

Though Helen did notice her onceover did last far longer than Edna’s, becoming a direct analysis instead of just a quick inspection.

“It hugs your body perfectly. I’ve just outdone myself one more time.” Edna said, kissing her fingers and placing them against her cheek, repeating the action many times, giving the impression that she was kissing herself.

“Again, I must admit, Edna,” Evelyn said, her arms still crossed, her head going up and down in an appreciative nod. “I _really like_ the design.”

The dark tone didn’t go unnoticed by Edna, who looked at her with intrigue in her eyes.

Didn’t make a comment, though.

“Let me tell you about its’ features.”

“Features?”

Edna nodded at Helen. “I couldn’t stop thinking about the way you two work as a team; One on the field, another one watching the full frame from her headquarters. I decided to adapt the suit to such mode of operating.”

Evelyn frowned. “How so?”

And with her smug look still intact, still in place, Edna moved towards the marble table and activated the monitors, their screens becoming alive with thousands of bits of information.

Evelyn watched them in wonder, the cogs inside her brain spurred into movement, connecting the intel to the suit in an instant.

Helen frowned at them, still doubtful of what it all meant.

“The suit has been designed with sensorial fibers that measures the user’s body heat, heart rate and stress levels, apart from any environmental information that may be of use. It analyzes all useful data and sends the results to the briefing screen, which can only be accessible through the connection of an external device to a computer capable of bearing its’ codification complexity.”

Evelyn’s look of awe turned into a slow smile.

“The fabric can also interact with some of these factors; with the touch of a button from the computer linked to it, the suit can cool down or heat up, take the compression up a notch or even make it looser… Anything in order to offer a little aid to its’ bearer.” Edna looked thrilled. “It’s a biomechanical wonder brought to existence by yours truly and ready to put to good use by you two; Elastigirl on stage, Evelyn Deavor on the behind the scenes.”

The suit set their roles, their positions, in stone.

The suit gave Evelyn full knowledge of her state.

It even gave her influence over it.

“Miss Mode,” Evelyn said, her gaze moving towards Edna as if it were in slow motion, the speed with which it settled on the shorter woman being completely different from the one with which she had turned her head, “You’re brilliant.”

“I knew already, darling, I knew already.” Edna said, brushing her off, unplugging the external device from her screens and giving it to Evelyn. “It already has an incorporated camera on the chest, but its’ concealed by the suit’s color. I couldn’t include the homing device, though; the electromagnetic currents it interacts with may interfere with the readings the suit takes care of, so I ruled it out, especially considering it seems to be useless, now.” She then returned to the settee, taking a seat.

“It’s all very interesting.” Evelyn said, her eyes drinking in the image of Helen in that skin tight suit. She smirked, deciding it would be fun to poke at her, with Edna’s help. “It could use a cape, though.”

There was a flash of alarm in Helen’s eyes, like a deer in headlights.

“No capes.” Edna ground out.

Evelyn realized she had just bumped into something but, uncertain as to what, she decided to test a little further.

“Why not? I mean, a long, black cape to go with it-“

She was silenced by the table’s weapons suddenly pointing at her face.

Slowly, she nodded. “I see you’ve updated the security system.”

Edna was having none of it, her panic button, usually concealed as a necklace, at the ready. “Say the word _cape_ one more time, I dare you.”

Evelyn raised her hands in surrender, though her cool demeanor remained, much like last time. “I’ve understood the message; I think the suit’s fine without whatever it was that I suggested it was lacking.”

Edna nodded her head and dismissed the weapons. Then, as if it had been nothing, her smile was back. “Now, how do you plan to put my suit to use?” She asked out of nowhere, eager to get some interesting news about Helen’s little problem

“Oh, no.” Evelyn suddenly said, shaking her head with a gentle smile as she pocketed the device. “We’re not using it, yet.”

Edna looked insulted. “What?”

Even Helen was surprised.

“Don’t get me wrong, Mode, I love the suit,” She paced around the room as she spoke, “But, right now, we need to be stealthy; we need to get more intel on Rogue and in order to do that we need to stay on the down low and the problem with Super suits is exactly _that_ ; they scream the word _Super_ to the world.” She clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth. “Not exactly discreet, if you ask me.”

“And why do we need to be discreet?” Helen asked, realizing right there and then that Evelyn had a plan and she hadn’t been informed of it. “What are you thinking of?”

Evelyn looked at her, then. “I recognized Rogue’s face.”

Helen hadn’t been expecting that. “What?”

The mad inventor nodded, all of a sudden frowning. “I know I’ve seen her before and I think I know exactly where, but in order to go and fish for some more data, we’ll have to be subtle about it.” She eyed Helen, then. “You may even need a little of a makeover since, you know, you’re very easy to identify.”

“Oh, no.” Helen said, crossing her arms in front of her, a vigorous shake to her head. “I’m not doing that.”

And thus they started a stare down.

Edna was _thrilled_ by the whole exchange.

Helen noticed.

“Okay, thanks for the suit, E, but we’ve got to leave, now.” She said, going into the room to give the sleeping Jack-Jack a quick kiss and grabbing her clothing on the way out, hastily putting it all on, over the new suit.

“But if you two have just arrived!”

“I agree-“

“Of course you do,” Helen said, then she grabbed a shocked Evelyn by her arm, pulling her into the elevator with her as she shot a quick _Bye E!_ over her shoulder.

“What the Hell did we say about giving her information on Rogue?” Helen asked Evelyn, infuriated by the other woman’s behavior.

“Oh, come on, give me a break. I didn’t tell her anything useful.” She smirked at Helen. “What I did say, I did it just to mess with you.”

“Anything useful… How about the fact that you _know Rogue?!”_ She looked at Evelyn like she was insane. “Didn’t you think it would be important to share that with me?!”

“First of all, calm down. You’re _screaming.”_ Evelyn let out in a quiet tone. “Second, I didn’t say I knew her; I said I’ve seen her before, which is a completely different concept.”

Helen tried to breathe in, then breathe out, but it was proving to be a very difficult task, at the moment. “Where?”

“At a bar.”

The lift reached its’ destination and they got out of it, walking the way back to DevTech.

“Which one?”

Evelyn shot her a look, as if quietly asking her the reason behind such question, the mad inventor being aware that no matter what she answered, Helen wouldn’t know a thing about it. “It’s called Summer’s End.”

They didn’t talk about the subject anymore during their walk, Helen still too angry about her childish ways to get serious.

Still, she understood that the woman had kept her promise, making Edna none the wiser in terms regarding Rogue, simply messing with them both by dropping that interesting fact right there, in front of the two of them.

But she needed to calm down a bit, anyway.

And Evelyn needed to grow up, too.

They didn’t talk until they were once again back in the true lab, the temperature warm enough for both of them.

“No, not yet.” Helen said when she got the feeling that Evelyn was about to talk. “I’m not ready.”

And then she disappeared into Evelyn’s room.

She took off the new Super suit, folding it and placing it on top of the woman’s desk.

She inspected the room, taking it in, for she hadn’t done that before.

The king sized bed laid against the wall to the right, the desk right in front of it, against the wall to the left. Right next to it, a door that lead to a small bathroom and, on the wall opposite to the entrance, a walk in wardrobe.

So simple, so straight to the point.

Like she should be with the woman outside.

She got dressed, putting on what she had been using all day. Sweater included.

When she opened the door she found Evelyn on the other side, the woman entering her room, brushing Helen’s arm as she made it past her and took a seat on her bed.

Helen closed the door, as if it changed anything, and laid her back against it, crossing her arms over her chest.

She felt Evelyn’s calculating stare on her.

“How are we going to do this?”

Evelyn’s eyes traveled from her crossed arms to her eyes. “Do what?”

A sigh. “Get information while being stealthy.”

“Oh,” Evelyn said, making a face as if she had forgotten they had been talking about that. “Yes.” She smirked. “I’ll do it.”

Helen rolled her eyes, a mocking smirk on her face. “Right. And how do you plan to do that?”

Evelyn shrugged, “I’ll go to the bar and talk with the bartender; she might tell me something about Rogue.”

“And why would she know something about Rogue? Let alone, why would she _tell you?”_

“I remember having seen Rogue talking with her, at least for a little, while I was looking for villains to match up against you.”

“Match up-“

“Long story for another day,” Evelyn cut her off, “And the bartender happens to be a very good friend of mine.” She smirked, shrugging again. “Regular customer.”

“I don’t know how much good this will be for us.”

“Well, until you’ve got a better idea, it’s all we have, for now.” Helen watched as Evelyn stood up, walking until she was right in front of the other woman, that confident look on her face, “So I think you should step aside, _Elastigirl,_ and let _me_ take care of the job.” A thought came her way. “We could switch; I go with the earpiece on and you stay here with the headset-“

“No.”

 _Huh?_ “What?”

“After what you did to Voyd, you’ll have to earn my trust again.” She raised a brow, her eyes full of judgement towards the other woman. “I’m not getting anywhere a screen or an earpiece or whatever.”

Evelyn sighed. “Fine, whatever floats your boat, Parr. You wait here and I go get the info-“

“No, I’m going-“

“I’m not asking you how to proceed.” Came the statement.

Helen quieted down.

“I’m merely informing you that you are to stay here, where no one can find you and you’re _safe,_ while I go and get the information we need. Now, if you excuse me, I’ve got a bar to attend and I should shower before doing so.”

And Helen wanted to say something about it, wanted to complain, wanted to do _anything._

But Evelyn had already entered the bathroom, the door closing with a click behind her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Clarke this is the find-the-rethorical-analysis challenge. Have fun!
> 
> And the rest of you? ugh. I love you all. Have fun.
> 
> DISCLAIMER; I don't ship Edna and Evelyn. Clarke, stop calling me out.


	12. Theseus and Ariadne

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Evelyn goes out on a mission. Helen can't bear the silence.

_Fine. It’s fine. I’m fine._

She inhaled deeply.

Slowly, she permitted the air to be freed from her lungs.

Helen did the same two actions many times. Inhaling, exhaling.

Trying her best to keep it in, to avoid kicking the bathroom’s door down and strangling Evelyn to death with her bare hands proved to be a hard task, though.

But she felt proud of herself; she hadn’t done it, which was an advance in comparison to their previous arguments.

Helen opened the door and left Evelyn’s bedroom.

Her eyes landed on the computer-like desk in the inner ring of the lab.

Then, as if doing it on their own accord, her eyes wondered towards the hypno-goggles, still on the table in front of the loveseat.

_Like Hell I’m getting myself into that one._

She was not going to get herself in a hypnosis-vulnerable position for Evelyn to exploit.

Never mind that she hadn’t been in such a position thus far.

Never mind that, apparently, she could trust the woman to take the wheel without any kind of supervision from her, whatsoever.

 She made her way into the inner chamber and paced around it aimlessly, her eyes taking in every part of the hidden laboratory.

She did a double take after her eyes landed over the motorcycle parts pushed to a side.

A sigh escaped her lips.

_I really liked that bike._

She moved towards the loveseat, dropping herself on its’ cushions. Her head automatically pivoted, watching the bottle of wine still on the dispenser, the empty bowl of grapes next to it.

She considered it for a minute…

…She shrugged. What harm could it do?

So she picked up Evelyn’s empty glass and poured herself a drink.

* * *

 

Evelyn turned the water on and immediately jumped underneath it, the cold water that showered over her body making her tense up, feeling every drop that splashed against her bare skin with a renewed intensity.

She had always favored cold showers over hot ones; the icy water always helped boost her energy, clearing her mind from any fog it may contain. Whenever she started to acclimate to the temperature, she’d turn it colder, until it was as icy as it could get without it coming out partially frozen.

She had already finished showering, already having washed her body and hair, but she remained under the water for a few more moments, contemplating what she’d have to do next, planning step by step, analyzing which way of proceeding was the best for her to follow.

She had an excellent memory; she was entirely certain that she’d seen Eleanor —Or, as she preferred to call her, Rogue, —In Summer’s End. She also knew Summer, the owner and bartender, knew at least a thing or two about all of her clients.

In her case, Summer knew _everything._

So she had already decided what she’d do.

First, she’d turn the water off. She did. Then, she’d get out of the shower. Done.

Evelyn picked up a towel and quickly dried herself off, her hair still dripping a bit as she shook her head wildly, getting rid of as many drops as she could.

She covered her lower body with the towel, anchoring one of its’ corners on her hip, between her skin and the rest of the fabric, her body and the tightness with which she had fastened the towel keeping it in place.

She got out of the bathroom and her feet automatically dragged her to the walk in wardrobe. Her eyes scanned all of the available clothing, her mind working out what would be the ideal attire; something that looked good enough not to catch any judgmental eyes, but not distinct enough to attract admiring ones, either. The most inconspicuous she could be.

_Okay, I got it._

* * *

 

Helen hadn’t expected to sense movement to her left, coming from the bedroom.

She hadn’t expected to catch a glimpse of a naked Evelyn, casually making her way towards her wardrobe, not even bothering to leave the door ajar as she got dressed.

She supposed she should be thankful she hadn’t actually seen anything, the angles of the laboratory’s setup and their positions making it impossible for her to snoop, having only seen her as she migrated from the bathroom to the wardrobe.

Still, there was something alike disappointment burning a hole inside her chest.

She ignored it, shaking it off.

Some minutes passed by, the woman contempt with the wine that made its’ way from her mouth to her belly, warming up her throat as it traveled through it. She had to give it to Evelyn; she had good taste.

She almost choked when she saw Evelyn come out of the bedroom, though.

She was wearing a black, long-sleeved Henley shirt, its’ hem tucked into her bordeaux, skinny jeans, a black belt keeping it in place, the jeans’ cuffs disappearing into her black Chelsea boots. Hanging idly on her forearm, a jacket that resembled those made of leather usually worn by bikers, only this one’s shell was made of wool, its’ lining being polyester, the woman managing to sport a look that was what Edna would label as _trashy attitude turned into the latest fashion._

Evelyn noticed her staring, but she was more intrigued by the fact that Helen was drinking her wine, so when she walked into the inner chamber, she raised a brow and said, “Seems you’re allowing yourself to go a little crazy.”

Helen realized right there and then that she had never seen Evelyn’s wet hair, the usual methodical chaos of her mane being incredibly augmented by the water on its’ strands, making it slightly spikier and wilder than before.

She didn’t know where the Hell to anchor her eyes.

“I couldn’t resist the temptation; Pinot Noir is my one alcoholic weakness.” She said out loud, her eyes fixed on that wool jacket.

Evelyn smiled, “Then drink up, Elastigirl.” There was no malice on her voice; no teasing, no taunting. It wasn’t exactly unprecedented, but it still definitely felt strange. “The bottle’s all yours.”

Helen raised her glass at that and took a sip. Evelyn laughed.

“Looking sharp, tonight.” The compliment was out before she could stop it.

Evelyn’s eyes widened a bit. Then, they took that droopy expression once more as her confident smirk appeared. “Thanks,” She said, running a hand through her hair and pulling it away from her face, the water it contained making the crazy strands remain slickened back. “I must look that way in order to blend in.”

“Is such a fancy place, this Summer’s End bar?”

“Fancy?”

“You’re looking really good. Maybe a little bit too much?”

Evelyn’s brain short-circuited as it rushed to find a logical explanation for such a statement. Her head lolled to a side as she fought to contain the smirk, keeping it from turning into a grin as she asked, “Are you trying to say you find me attractive, Parr?”

“I didn’t say such a thing.”

A chuckle. “The subtleties of double speech.”

Helen was almost as red as the wine. “There was no double speech implied.”

Evelyn grabbed her jacket with both hands, inspecting it. “Sure.”

The mad inventor got her coat on and opened her mouth to speak-

“What’s your plan?”

It was a quite interesting discovery; Helen Parr — _Elastigirl_ —didn’t have a filter between her thoughts and her words. It seemed to have been destroyed, at some point. “Walk into the bar, sit on a stool, chat the bartender up, come back home.”

Helen nodded as she pressed the glass of wine to her lips. “Good,” She said, then she took a long swig.

But Evelyn saw the uncertainty in her eyes; Helen Parr wasn’t okay with their new course of action.

So she walked up to the woman, “Hey,”

Helen looked at her, leaving her glass to a side. “Hm?”

And the way Evelyn held her jaw, forcing her to look into her eyes, rendered her speechless as the blue eyed woman offered her that smirk, “I’ll be back before you notice I’m gone, all the intel ready for you.”

But then Helen’s shocked expression turned into one of anger as she heard Evelyn add, “Or you could just stop being childish about it and wear the headset.”

That was all It took to break the spell. “Hell, no.”

Evelyn made a sound in the back of her throat. “Then you wait.”

Helen glared. “Fine.”

And without any other word, Evelyn turned on her heel and made her way out of the laboratory.

Into the night.

* * *

 

The Incredibile was still out of the question, so Evelyn walked.

It was far enough that the inventor mentally groaned, but close enough that she didn’t really need a car to go. After all, every time she did go to the bar, she did so by foot; it gave her enough time when she made her way back home to sober up.

Because she always needed to sober up after visiting Summer’s End.

_This may be an interesting night._

She reached her destination; a small, dimly lit pub, designed to look like those Irish ones, its’ exterior painted a dark green, a small sign that read _Summer’s End_ hanging above its’ entrance, hidden in between the several different bars all around it, which made it look inconspicuous enough that no one cared enough to venture into it.

She pushed the door open and walked inside. There was a genuine smile on her lips as she took it all in.

It looked exactly the same like it had been ever since she started visiting it; the warm, dulled color of the beige walls, the wooden tables and black chairs, the busy, mahogany counter that looked like a masterpiece of its’ own, glasses going from one place to another, several taps one right next to the other, offering as many different kinds of beer as one could think of; from big brands to homemade ones.

And there, between the bar counter and the glasses above which hang from the cabinets, as if she were caught in the maw of a big, liquored dragon, the bartender.

“And when I thought this Autumn couldn’t get any colder, Winter Queen herself makes an entrance.”

Evelyn made her way towards the counter, pushing her way between the crowds of women already in the pub. “It’s good to see you too, Summer.” She said, taking a seat on the stool, Summer immediately moving towards her, standing in front of her on the other side of the bar.

“Man, it’s been a very long time since I last saw you, Deavor.” The long haired brunette said, a warm smile on her lips and a glint in her eye. “It’s been… what, months?”

“A year.”

A low whistle. “Damn it, Deavor, don’t ghost me like that again!”

“I missed that voice of yours, woman.” Evelyn let out with a small shake of her head, taking off her jacket and laying it on her lap, placing her forearms on the countertop.

“I missed your idiotic face.”

“If I’m an idiot then what’s left there for the rest of humanity?”

Summer punched her on the arm. “Hush.” Immediately, without the inventor telling her to do so, she grabbed a bottle of whiskey and poured the both of them a glass, ice in each of them, already waiting for the liquid that rained over them.

Evelyn picked up one of the glasses and raised it, clinking it against Summer’s as they both downed their drinks in one long gulp, slamming their glasses on the countertop and awaiting the next round.

“Where have you been?” Summer asked as she prepared round two. “You disappeared, right in the climax of the _Super-deal_ your brother was landing.”

“In jail.”

The bartender cackled. Evelyn didn’t.

She expected her imprisonment to be of public knowledge, but it seemed Winston had managed to veil it completely, not only from authorities themselves but from the news, too, probably even hiding her collaboration in the whole deal, if only to keep her as away from the Screenslaver act as humanly possible.

Still, she smirked, “I’ve been away.” She tried, aware that she’d have to explain Summer the whole fiasco if she confessed right then and there what had happened to her.

“Knowing you, you were in some tropical island, mimosa in hand, pretty lady on your lap.”

Evelyn snorted. “You don’t know shit about me if you think I’d have a _mimosa_ in hand, then.” She drove her point home by taking a long gulp from her new drink. “I’m a hard liquor woman, Summer, you of all people should be aware of it, by now.”

Summer laughed heartily. “You know I’m just teasing. Don’t make me get the vodka out-“ And she smiled as she heard Evelyn let out a hushed _Oh, no,_ “-Again.”

“It still makes my stomach churn.”

“That much I’ve noticed.”

They laughed. They had missed each other.

Bottoms up. Third round.

“What have you been up to?”

“Nothing much,” Summer answered with a shrug of her shoulders. “Just making sure ladies who hit on other ladies get enough alcohol in their systems to be brave enough for the task.”

“The usual, I see.”

Summer let out a long, deep hum of confirmation. “What about the genius?”

Evelyn shrugged. “Genius-ing.”

Summer narrowed her eyes at her; evasive Evelyn meant secretive Evelyn; whatever it was that she had been up to, she wouldn’t tell her.

And Summer knew Evelyn enough to be aware that she’d get nowhere on that topic, so it’d be better to change it.

“So tell me, Deavor,” She said nonchalantly as she picked up an empty glass and cleaned it, though the inventor saw it was clearly impeccable, already. “What are you doing here? Did you come because you missed me or will you be straightforward with me and you’ll tell me you’re on the hunt for someone to warm your bed?”

Evelyn laughed, shaking her head as she twirled her glass on the counter, absentmindedly. “How surprised would you be if I told you none of those reasons apply?”

Summer gasped exaggeratedly. “I’d be stupefied!”

“Then knock yourself out, woman!” She said in a playful tone. “Because I’m here for something else entirely.”

“And what would that be?”

“You.”

Summer frowned. “Well, I must say I’m flattered, but I don’t see you that way, Evie.” She raised a brow. “We talked about this.”

“I can’t help my devotion to you, Summer.” Evelyn said, hanging her head in fake shame.

Summer’s frown deepened. “Wait, you’re being serious?”

Evelyn looked up, abruptly. “Hell, no. I’d rather isolate myself for the rest of my life than have sex with you, no offense.”

“None taken, it’d be as disgusting for me, to be honest.”

“Hm.” She took a much needed sip.

“So share the secret with me, oh, great genius; What do you want?”

“Damn, Summer, is it that you don’t appreciate my company?” Evelyn asked her playfully, but admitted defeat as she saw Summer raise an eyebrow, implying that she knew _this time_ Evelyn’s visit was with a purpose. “I need you to tell me what you know about someone.”

That was certainly an interesting motive. “Who?”

Evelyn grew serious. “I think she’s called Eleanor Hyde.”

Summer’s eyes grew wide with alarm and the woman looked around, as if checking no one had heard Evelyn. “Eleanor?”

“Blonde, short hair, one side of her head shaved, basically white eyes?” Evelyn asked, Summer nodded. “Yeah, that one.”

Summer looked nervous. “Why do you want to know about her?”

It didn’t sit well with Evelyn. “Why are you so concerned about it?”

“She’s a _Super,_ Evie, but not of the nice kind.”

Evelyn’s head lolled to a side, the way it would do when she grew immensely curious. “Delve into that concept, if you would so kindly, please.”

Summer didn’t like the topic of their conversation, so she tried to refuse. “Evelyn that woman is a bit sick in the mind and she also happens to be a regular client; I’m not risking my luck.”

Evelyn hunched forwards, “Then talk to me about someone else who fits the mold; I like to call her _Rogue.”_ She said, intently staring into the other set of blue eyes that stared right back, willing her to understand that she was hoping they’d start talking in code.

The other woman knew Evelyn way too well; “No, Evelyn.” She sentenced, already aware that the other woman wouldn’t tell her why she wanted the intel on Eleanor.

“Summer.”

And there was a certain desperation to the attempt of a scientist that had stunned the bartender into silence.

Evelyn silently held one of the woman’s hands with her free one, the other one grasping her glass.

There was a quiet plea shining through those cold, blue eyes.

So Summer sighed. “I hate how you always manage to get your way, Deavor.”

A tight lipped smile on Evelyn’s face. “It runs in the family.”

Summer chuckled. “I suppose so.” She said, her eyes moving from blue ones to the glass still on her other hand. She pulled away from Evelyn’s, grabbing her rag and continuing her idle task of cleaning the already pristine glass.

Evelyn simply waited.

A furtive look of Summer’s eyes.

“ _Rogue_ is popularly known as the _Hijacker.”_

That rang a bell.

“You told me this before.”

Summer nodded. “A year ago. More, even.”

“When I was looking for the matchup for-“ She cut herself short from saying it, her familiarity with Summer almost making her say _Helen_ instead of _Elastigirl._

_Slip of the tongue._

_This time, it_ is _actually the alcohol’s fault._

She could feel it loosening her words. Just a little bit, though.

Summer nodded. “Yeah, that day; remember what I told you?”

Evelyn frowned; she had been busy looking for the perfect Supervillain to abet people to side with Super-legalization, scheming her Screenslaver act in parallel to that, so whenever she was in Summer’s End, she wasn’t really paying that much attention, using it as a distraction and a much needed break, instead.

“Something about mind control?” She tested.

Summer grimaced. “Yes and no.” She looked around, making sure no one was eavesdropping. “She-“ But Summer cut herself off as she saw someone make it through the door.

It was Rogue.

Without any warning whatsoever, Summer set aside their glasses and _slammed_ Evelyn’s head against the counter.

Rogue walked into the pub, her eyes moving towards them for a moment, for she had sensed movement but she had missed the little scene.

Evelyn didn’t dare breathe.

Summer sighed and started stroking her hair. “You’ll get over her, sweetie.”

A strangled sob came out of Evelyn, shaking her whole body.

“ _Shhh,_ ” Summer soothed, her hand moving from her short, damp hair to her back, rubbing circles on her. “It’s okay.” Summer eyed Rogue as she made her way through, staring into her eyes with a raised brow. “Heartbreak,” She explained with a shrug of her shoulders.

“ _She was screwing the milkman!”_ Evelyn said in a fretful whimper.

Rogue looked at her with disgust, then looked ahead again and disappeared into another section of the pub.

“Okay, she’s gone.” Summer said, a faint tremble to her voice.

Slowly, Evelyn raised her head from the countertop.

Her forehead was red.

“There’s no word to describe _how pissed off_ I am at you right now.” She said, her expression neutral as ever, though Summer knew better.

“It was that or having her approach you.”

“How do you know she would have approached me?”

Summer’s eyes moved towards where Rogue had disappeared to. “She’s not exactly a mind controller; she gets into your mind, can hear it, can see it, can feel it... without even trying.”

Evelyn frowned, taking a sip. “And what about that makes you so afraid of her?”

“What she does is _fucked up,_ Evie.” Every now and then, she’d look in Rogue’s direction. “It’s not like what that Screenslaver guy did to those Supers.”

So the Screenslaver’s crimes were popular, but not his identity.

_Good. Must thank Winston for that one._

“And how is it any different?”

“She doesn’t control their minds; she _turns them._ There’s a reason why she’s _Hijacker,_ instead of _Controller._ ” She shook her head, frustrated at herself for not knowing how to explain it. “I’ve seen her do it to girls in here and they all looked like you so _yes,_ I’m guessing you’re her type and I don’t want her getting anywhere near you.”

Evelyn frowned. “What is she doing here?”

“Why do you want to know shit about her, anyway?” Summer asked instead of answering, but Evelyn shook her head.

“I’m not going to tell you anything just yet. I’ll do whenever I can, but not yet, Summer.”

Summer sighed. “She comes here to unwind. I don’t know what she does outside, but whenever she’s around, she’s comes all alone, chatting someone up, using that freakish power of hers.”

“How do you know about the powers?”

She clenched her jaw. “Many of her _partners_ told me how they felt about their encounters with her; they weren’t interested at first, but then she started talking and it was a complete one eighty for them. One of them was a Super, too, and told me she had realized she had some kind of mind power, but that the power was so comprehensive that she couldn’t quite explain it to me; anything involving the use of your mind, Rogue seems to hold a power over it.”

Evelyn pondered. “You think she’ll try to flirt with anyone, tonight?”

Summer looked around, her eyes falling on a sober girl to their right and nodded, “Probably her.”

Evelyn looked at the woman in question; her hair reached her shoulders, green eyes, mysterious air to her with that eyeliner. Small frame, a serious look to her face.

“How can you be so certain?”

“After seeing her do it so many times, I picked up a thing or two; she seems to avoid buzzed ones, so I’m guessing the state of your mind has a direct effect on her powers; maybe it makes them less efficient, I don’t know.”

Evelyn had a thought, remembering Voyd. “What about those who have minds that don’t exactly work like ours?” When she saw Summer’s confused look, she explained, “You know, someone who lacks self-esteem, confidence, those with anxiety, depression; you name it.”

“Must be harder to hijack because she avoids them, too, but I’ve seen her do it from time to time; it takes her a little bit more of time but she always manages.”

That made Evelyn reach a conclusion, “You’ve never seen her fail.”

Summer shook her head. “Not even once, so, if she comes to chat her up, which I know she’ll do, and if you want to stay and study her while she does it, which I know you want to,” She filled the glass up to the brim. “Drink up.”

Evelyn eyed the glass warily. An idea popped into her brain. “You still prepare those spicy shots?”

It took Summer by surprise. “You want me to make you one of _those?”_

And Evelyn’s cautious look went to Hell as a look of horror took over her face. “God, _no,_ Summer. I’d love not to shit my pants, thank you anyway.” Summer cackled, Evelyn gave her a minute to calm down. “I want to bite a hot pepper.”

“What the Hell for?”

“Tears.”

Summer suddenly saw what Evelyn was trying to do. “Okay,” She said, “Be right back,” She disappeared into the kitchen, leaving Evelyn for a moment.

A long gulp of her whiskey. Her tolerance was high enough she didn’t really feel it, but she knew the alcohol being metabolized by her body would soon catch up with her.

_Good._

Summer resurfaced from the kitchen with a red pepper… and a small mirror.

Evelyn didn’t ask; she would wait and see what Summer would do.

The bartender gave her the pepper. “Enjoy.” She said, then she placed the mirror to Evelyn’s left, on the countertop, disguised between several glasses.

Evelyn needed no explanation.

Summer looked to her right. “She’ll be moving to this room in any second,” She glanced at Evelyn once more.

The woman ripped half of the pepper off with her teeth, allowing her tongue to run over it thoroughly. “ _Motherfucker,”_ She whispered involuntarily as she began to feel the heat, the numbing of her mouth, the tears prickling at her eyes, giving Summer the rest of it as she forced it down her throat, slamming her fist against the bar in agony.

She quickly took another swig of her drink, watching in despair as a laughing Summer refilled her glass. Then, the laughter was gone, as a furtive glance to her right was cast. “She’s coming.”

And without any other word, Summer took some steps away from Evelyn, disengaging and faking casualty.

Evelyn dropped herself on the counter, looking like she had been crying herself to sleep, but actually focused as much as she could on that mirror, staring holes into the girl’s back.

Until Rogue’s reflection made an appearance on the reflecting glass, Evelyn’s eyes locking on her figure.

_Teacher teaches, student learns._

* * *

 

She couldn’t take it. She couldn’t take it anymore.

How long had Evelyn been gone for?

Every minute that passed was _agony._

Being a mother of three, she enjoyed the quiet moments but, this time…

She decided she didn’t trust Evelyn to be doing her job.

_I mean, come on, she’s a drunkard. She’s probably using this time to drink herself to Death._

Experience told her better, but she really wanted an excuse to do something stupid.

Still, she tried to rein her patience in.

Or the lack thereof.

_Breathe._

* * *

 

It was fascinating. Rogue was fascinating. Out of this World.

Evelyn mentally declared that such a Super couldn’t be human, so Rogue must be an alien of some sort.

She had been studying her for a while now; her expression, her quirks, her speech, her body language… _everything._

And it was all extremely fascinating.

The girl had disliked Rogue since the very beginning, trying to brush her off and send her away, but Rogue had just _looked_ into her eyes, a small smile on her lips and the trick was _done._

Just like that.

The girl decided she should have a chance and allowed for the Super to buy her a drink.

And then another.

And another.

And another.

It was never-ending.

And Evelyn was enthralled by it all.

Rogue had the girl wrapped around her pinkie and was just making a show out of it, now.

Eventually, Rogue called Summer, asking her for the check.

_They are leaving._

She took out some cash and left it on the counter.

She ushered the girl to go first.

And then she looked into Evelyn’s eyes through the mirror.

Evelyn kept the eye contact up, a lost look on her face as she tried to control her nerves, swallowing saliva.

Rogue broke the spell by looking ahead and leaving, the hijacked girl linked to her arm.

Evelyn let out a breath she was well aware she had been holding.

_The job’s done._

* * *

 

It had been hours. She was aware of that, now.

_That’s it._

Helen stood up from the loveseat.

Made her way outside.

* * *

 

“Have what you came here for?” Summer asked her as she approached her once more.

Evelyn slowly raised her head from the counter. Summer let out a silent laughter at the look of the girl.

“What?”

“You look like shit.”

“That’s the pepper’s fault!” Evelyn exclaimed.

She could feel the alcohol working on her.

Still, the puffy eyes were the pepper’s fault.

“Come on, you can use the private bathroom.”

Evelyn exhaled in relief, getting up and following Summer. “The public ones are always so dirty. Clean them up, disgusting monster.”

Summer hollered a laugh.

* * *

 

It took her a sometime, directions from several strangers, a bit of pacing around the city, but she finally managed to find the bar.

So Helen steeled herself and made her way in.

Her eyes immediately fell on Evelyn, sitting on a stool by the counter, _crying_ with laughter as she talked to the bartender.

She made her way towards her.

“…I still _can’t_ believe you managed to talk her into slapping him. I mean, come on!” She saw the bartender say.

Evelyn was nodding vigorously. “A pretty face and clever words will take you _so_ far.”

“Ah, no.” Summer said, “Pretty face, I’ll give you that. Now, _clever words?”_ She let out a huffing sound. “You drive girls _away_ with those.”

Evelyn laughed wholeheartedly, wiping a tear off her eye. “My tongue, betraying me an hour before its’ due!”

They laughed out loud together, making Helen watch them thunderstruck.

She had never seen Evelyn so loose, before. Never.

Helen cleared her throat as she stepped closer, making both women look at her.

Evelyn seemed surprised, but at the same time she looked like she had been expecting her. “Hey,” She let out breathily.

Summer looked at them both, smiling and letting out a _Hi,_ as she made eye contact with Helen.

Helen greeted her back, though not as charmingly, and looked at the inventor right in front of her.

Summer understood the signal. “I’ll leave you two.” She said, a knowing look in her eye as she walked away.

When she was out of earshot, “Where the Hell have you been? I’ve been waiting for _hours!”_

“Shhh, you’ll scream my ears off!” Evelyn said, a playfully annoyed look on her face. “And I’ve been here.” She gestured all around her.

Helen frowned at her, taking her in. “Are you _drunk?”_

Evelyn shook her head. “Not yet, but I’m getting close.” Her eyes made a quick scan of Helen, a mischievous smirk on her lips as an idea popped into her brain. “Drink with me.”

“Evelyn, are you out of your goddamn _mind?_ ” Helen asked, incredulously. “What the Hell are you doing?! You were supposed to come here and-“

“And get us information, yes.” Evelyn said, her mirth gone as a tired look took over her face. “And I did; the job’s done, got us what I could.”

“Which is…?”

“Oh, _no.”_ Evelyn said, shaking her head as that playful smirk made it back to her face. “I’m not telling you.”

Helen was getting angry. “What do you mean, you’re not telling me?”

Evelyn contained a laugh. “Exactly that.”

The Super looked pissed off. “Evelyn.”

And then the inventor was sighing, that exhaustion from before coming back, full force. “It’s always work with you,” She said, looking into brown eyes. “I’ve managed to collect what we needed, why can’t we just relax for a little bit, now?” She frowned as she looked for the right word. “Pretend the World isn’t worth the fight for _at least_ a minute, woman.”

Helen shook her head, “I’m not being as irresponsible as you are, Evelyn.”

But Evelyn wasn’t having that righteous attitude, “Oh, _yes,_ you are.” She said, calling Summer over with a raised hand.

Helen saw it and quickly grabbed her arm, pulling it down. “What do you think you’re doing?!” She asked in an angry whisper.

“Summer, bring me another glass and what’s left of the bottle, will you?” She said to the blue eyed bartender, making her laugh.

“Evie, we’ve basically downed it.”

It was surprising. “Well, bring me another one. And a bottle of wine.”

“Which kind?”

She looked at Helen, inspected her, “Chardonnay.”

“Right away,” She said, quickly snatching the desired items from their respective locations on her counter, leaving them with the two women before disappearing once more.

Wordlessly, Evelyn picked up the wine and poured a generous amount for Helen to drink, the liquid looking out of place in an old fashioned glass.

“I’m making a wild guess here,” Evelyn said, her eyes moving furtively between the glass and Helen’s eyes. “But I believe I’ve hit bullseye with the Chardonnay.” She set the bottle aside. “And its’ taste will ease you into the whiskey.”

Helen’s eyes fell on her glass. She had admitted it, once; Evelyn was always right. “I’m not drinking.”

“Yes, you are.”

An idea. “I’m not drinking until you tell me your discoveries.”

And she immediately regretted saying it when she saw that devilish smirk take its’ rightful throne underneath hazy eyes. “I won’t tell you my discoveries until you catch up with me.” She picked up her own glass. “And you better drink up,” she said, approaching her glass to her lips. “Because I’ve had a big head start.”

Helen remained quiet for a minute, then sighed in defeat. “There’s no way I’m talking you out of this game, is it?”

She saw Evelyn shake her head, that smirk still in place.

And, reluctantly, picked up her glass, taking a sip.

Evelyn nodded, pleased. “That’s more like it.”

“I’ll admit; the Chardonnay _was_ a good choice.” Helen responded, not moving the glass from her lips.

Evelyn’s eyes were comfortably set on Helen’s, a look of pride to her eye. “Humor me and you’ll get what you want.”

Helen bit her lip as subtly as she could.

But Evelyn had seen it.

* * *

 

Minutes turned into an hour. Or two. They weren’t sure.

They didn’t care.

Evelyn had succeeded, though. Through the evasion of Helen’s questions and her forced game, she managed to make the auburn haired woman drink alongside her, glass after glass, Evelyn with the whiskey, Helen with the wine. She Super ended up confessing she had finished the Pinot Noir bottle back in the Lab, making Evelyn gasp in an attempt to tease her, the inventor exclaiming how flabbergasted she was upon discovering that she hadn’t had such a head start, after all.

Helen had attempted to make Evelyn talk, but the inventor hadn’t fallen into it, swaying their conversation into idler topics, a little game of questions going back and forth between them as they recounted stories of their pasts, both shared and not.

They had tackled different topics, both discovering things about the other one; Evelyn confessed her passion for science, Helen, for greek mythology.

Evelyn had found it weird, but had smiled as she commented it was to be expected of _Helen of Sparta._

Helen had blushed at the implications.

They didn’t know what they were talking about at the moment, but they were both too busy laughing to care.

Evelyn calmed down first, wiping a tear away. “Ah, shit. That was funny.”

Helen tried to contain her laughter, asking between fits of it, “What thing?”

At that, Evelyn stared at her in silence.

Then, she lost it.

They started hollering with laughter again, Helen shaking her head and Evelyn slamming her free hand against the counter, trying to cut it off, but failing miserably.

Eventually, though, it died out, both of them settling under the spell of a nice silence, quietly sipping their umpteenth drink.

“You were right,” Helen said, then smirked at the look of confusion on Evelyn’s face, “I _am_ a lightweight.”

Evelyn mouthed a small _Oh,_ before chuckling, “Three kids, woman. I was sure you had called it quits with the alcohol and _no one_ could convince me of otherwise.”

“I did drink a bit in that party, though.”

“Just a glass, _coward.”_

Helen gasped. Evelyn winked.

The Super didn’t come up with a response.

“So,” Helen began, the alcohol’s confidence making her bold enough to start asking important questions, “Winston knew about the Screenslaver?” She said quietly.

Evidently, every thought of Rogue had escaped her mind.

Evelyn nodded. “He knew a bit, yeah.” She said, moving her stool closer to Helen’s, closing the distance a bit. “Want me to explain?”

Helen raised a brow. “You know the answer to that.”

Evelyn rolled her eyes. “Fine,” She said, then she took a sip of her whiskey, ready to go into storytelling mode, her eyes fixed on her glass as she set it down.

“Some months prior to our first meeting, Winston had come up with the idea that would make Supers legal again; this change of the common crowd’s perception. Pick up the best Super out there and make them face a good villain.” She then huffed a laugh at the oxymoron. “We had the Supers already figured out; I did the research for us and the numbers that came back made it official.” She looked into Helen’s eyes. “We would be working with _you.”_

She felt her face grow hot underneath the piercing blue eyes. “Why me?”

“Because, objectively speaking, you’re the _Superior Super._ ” She said, letting out a gust of air as if trying to avoid laughing at her own words. “You are better at the job than anyone else.”

_Mr. Incredible included._

She wouldn’t say it out loud, though; she didn’t want to rupture the moment.

“We were empty handed in terms of a good enemy for you,” Evelyn continued, “So I ended up looking for someone who’d play that part, hence how I learned about Rogue, so long ago.”

She waited for Helen to react at the mention of Rogue’s nickname, but she didn’t.

_Good sign._

“An idea came to mind, then; If we couldn’t find a felon, we’d create one, then.” She shrugged, “And that’s how Screenslaver came to life; Winston came up with his _visuals,_ I gave him his brain.”

“And Winston didn’t find it weird at all?” She asked, adding after Evelyn’s inevitable _what do you mean?, “_ That this creation of yours thought exactly like you.”

“Winston never knew about my opinions regarding Supers. I mean, yeah, we had talked about it before, but we always ended up _agreeing to disagree,_ no further discussion on the topic.”

Another sip by the brunette. “Since Supers were illegal, I never worried much about the issue, but when that Syndrome guy appeared, it all came rushing back.”

“What came back?”

“The anger towards society for their passive role on their own lives, all because they’d rather see flashy fights on a flat screen rather than go out there and _live.”_ She watched Helen’s glass, intently. “I don’t have anything against Supers, I just hate the effect they have on the public.”

Helen felt her stare and moved the glass towards her lips. Evelyn’s eyes followed.

She continued talking, eyes now on Helen’s lips as she drank. “So I gave the Screenslaver my beliefs, turning him into my ideal, becoming obsessed with him and his plans, enough to plan them out myself and try to make them see light. Everything behind Winston’s back, of course.”

“So he knew what he had to.”

“The basic plans that were just for you to solve, like the train, the TV show, the helicopters. Those that really counted? Not a clue.”

Helen nodded. Evelyn drank.

The glass was empty.

She poured herself another one.

“And this Summer woman?” Helen asked, finishing off her wine and mimicking Evelyn’s actions from before, filling it up with her white wine.

“What about her?”

“Nothing, it’s just that you two seem intimate.”

_She calls you Evie. I can’t do that._

A knowing smile on Evelyn’s lips. “Summer once worked for us in DevTech as my personal secretary. We didn’t get along well; we would always clash. Eventually, I fired her, but I had developed a certain liking, so I gave in to a little temptation of mine and bought this place for her.” She motioned to the bar all around them.

Helen’s eyes were wide. “You bought the pub for her?” Evelyn nodded. “Why?”

“Because we had a sisterhood of sorts that had me caring for her, she was good at choosing drinks for me while being my secretary _and_ she told me once that she had always dreamed of having a bar of her own.” She shrugged. “Seemed like the logical solution.”

It was out of her mouth before she could stop it. “And things like these are what make me not get you.”

It took Evelyn by surprise. “Huh?”

Helen’s eyes moved from Evelyn’s to the glass filled with whiskey and brazenly took it from the other woman, taking a long swig of the liquor, feeling Evelyn’s eyes, hot on her. She set the glass down, her own still on her other hand. “I’ve been studying you, trying to figure you out and, when I think I do, you go and throw me a curve ball like that. I just don’t get it. I don’t get you.”

Evelyn stared at her for a minute, her eyes roaming her face, then her body, until they settled on the glass of wine. Imitating the Super, she took it from her hands, “Well, that’s your own fault, Helen. I mean, I _did_ tell you I was being myself.” She said, purposefully turning the glass until she was drinking right from where Helen had.

The Super noticed it.

“But I know who you are.”

“Do you, now?” Evelyn asked.

“Yes.”

“Then tell me, who am I?”

It dawned on Helen that this had been the one topic they kept going back to.

So her opened mouth fell shut.

_We don’t know each other, do we?_

She was surprised to see Evelyn’s smile start to grow, the woman taking another sip from the wine.

Helen imitated her, drinking just as much whiskey.

Turning the glass, too. It pleased Evelyn.

“If you’re willing to listen, I’ll tell you what mistake you’re making in the equation that makes it give you the answer all wrong.”

“I’m all ears.”

She swore she could feel Evelyn’s knee against hers.

“The problem with you is that you’re thinking as a Super, not as a normal person.” She said, a smile still on her lips.

Only this smile wasn’t her arrogant one; it was gentle.

It hypnotized Helen.

She went on, “As a Super, you tend to catalogue people as good or bad; black or white, there’s no in between.” She slowly reached for the whiskey glass, sliding it near her and dipping her finger in the liquid, twirling it. “People are either good or bad for you and that’s exactly the problem; People aren’t inherently good or inherently bad; we aren’t made of black or white. We are made of colors. Many colors.”

Helen’s eyes followed Evelyn’s finger as it kept twirling. “If you want to take it to a monochromatic scale, we could, but even then, we wouldn’t be talking about black or white; we would be talking about different shades of gray.” She smiled at her glass, “That’s what we are, _grays._ All of us. Even you, even me.”

She stopped the motion, bringing that one finger close to her mouth as she said, “The problem you’re facing is that you’re being too rigid, _Elastigirl._ You’ve got to be a little bit more _flexible._ ” And then, she placed that finger in her mouth, sucking the alcohol off it.

Helen watched with parted lips.

She had been listening, though.

“I’m not grey.” Was all she could say.

Evelyn laughed. “Of course you are, sweetheart. You have your bad side, even if you don’t like it. The best thing you could do is own it, though.”

She would ignore the constant nicknames. She could do it.

She couldn’t ignore the truth that now stared at her in the face.

This was the key to understanding Evelyn.

She wasn’t _bad;_ she just had different opinions.

And while Helen didn’t approve of her methods…

…To Evelyn they were all just means to an end.

_Different perceptions, different lightings._

It was as if suddenly Evelyn made sense, out of nowhere.

“Do you own your failures?” She asked, quickly, trying to ease her mind off the glaring topic.

Evelyn laughed, finishing off her whiskey, giving Helen her wine and watching her do the same before responding, “I do, believe it or not.”

“What’s your latest one?”

Evelyn grinned, “Getting drunk with you.”

Helen snorted. “How is that a failure?”

“Okay, okay,” Evelyn said, shaking her hands and hunching forwards, getting ready to explain.

Her face mere inches from Helen’s.

“Remember the maze? The one I told you about?”

Helen nodded.

“When I’m drunk, it’s like I find all the answers at once, but the maps I’ve drawn get erased. I don’t know, I just sit to a side and watch how all of my thoughts come out of my mouth at once. I can’t keep myself quiet, I can do nothing else but drown myself in that maze.”

Helen slowly smiled.

There it was.

The maze.

Evelyn had let her in and had been quietly hinting towards the solution, but Helen had been too blind to see it.

It was like turning on the lights.

“Well, now it’s more like being adrift in the middle of the sea, without being able to see the lighthouse,” Evelyn continued, “Which is funny, because I _should_ be terrified, but I’m here, floating, laughing at it all, at the maze in the bottom of the sea, and I-“ She cut herself off as she caught sight of Helen’s face, the woman enthralled by the inventor. “What’s the matter?”

Helen shook her head a bit. “Nothing.”

But Evelyn was far too smart, even in such an intoxicated state. “Did Theseus just find Ariadne’s thread?”

Helen couldn’t help the grin that grew on her face. “Maybe Theseus already killed the Minotaur and is on his way out.”

“Alright, ladies!” They heard Summer’s voice as she approached them. “Time for me to close up the bar.”

Evelyn’s eyes were wide. “Did we really spend that much time in here?”

Summer nodded. “And now it’s time for you two to get out of here.”

Evelyn and Helen looked at each other, feeling as if they had been caught doing something they weren’t supposed to be doing, in the first place.

But then Evelyn was quietly paying, giving Summer a generous stash of cash, offering her arm to Helen, having a hard time balancing herself on her feet as she playfully said, “May I have the honor of escorting you home, Helen of Sparta?”

Helen laughed, but accepted her arm, even if it didn’t seem safe, for the woman was just as wobbly as she was, “It will be an honor, _Menelaus._ ”

Evelyn’s eyes darkened. “Let’s go, _wife.”_

And it didn’t ring a bell in Helen’s mind, didn’t take her back to her husband.

Not even once.

So they left the bar, linked by the arm.

Hushed whispers being shared between them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How are you all doing?


	13. Truth laid bare

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Evelyn and Helen make their way back home, a new perception of the other taking form as their truths had been confessed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to chapter thirteen or, as I like to call it, "It's rated M for a reason". Enjoy your sin, you demon!

“Give me a piggyback ride.”

A snort. “What? No.”

“Come on, Evelyn, don’t be a _chicken_.”

“I-“ She cut herself off as she heard the other woman chant the word _chicken_ repeatedly and the inventor realized she was actually offended at the idea of Evelyn Deavor being a chicken.

So Evelyn pulled away from Helen and walked two steps ahead of her, before halting and crouching a bit. “Jump.” She said, and Helen laughed at the way the woman swayed to each side, unable to stay put.

But laughter disappeared as she obeyed.

Evelyn caught her thighs, taking some quick steps forward, trying to find her footing, but ended up failing miserably, Helen jumping away from her right before she fell.

Evelyn met the ground, landing on her backside. Helen cried out with laughter.

“I knew that would happen.” Evelyn said, still spread on the ground.

“And you did it anyway.”

Evelyn laughed. “I did, didn’t I?” She asked Helen, looking at her as she laughed, nodding her head. “So much for my brilliant mind.”

They had walked out of Summer’s End linked by their arms, but sooner rather than later said walk had turned into two drunkards clinging to each other for balance; Helen’s arm draped over Evelyn’s shoulders, Evelyn’s arm possessively gripping the other woman’s waist.

Such scenario hadn’t last long, though, Evelyn’s crash landing on the ground being enough proof of it.

“Here,” Helen said, offering the woman a stretched hand, which Evelyn took, allowing for the stronger woman to pull her to her feet.

 _“Freaky,”_ She whispered, a shiver running down her spine. She still couldn’t get used to it.

Helen simply laughed.

Wordlessly, as if they both had previously agreed to it, both women returned to their drunken hug, painfully slowly making their way back home.

And they were happy. They really were.

They were happy to just share the moment, no common sense being able to interfere, their consciousness being completely physical, lacking rational thought.

“So,” Helen said, feeling Evelyn’s attention perk up at that. “ _Knitting, huh?”_ She asked, making the other woman groan as she herself laughed.

“Damn you for making me say it, Mode.” She mumbled a curse for the designer. “Yes, knitting.”

Helen laughed, the sound coming out slow as she dragged it, “Delve into that concept, Miss Deavor.”

Evelyn glared at her, though there was no real malice in her expression. “Fine, _Mrs. Parr.”_ She sighed, closing her eyes for a minute and letting out a, “My mother used to knit.”

Helen’s mirth immediately died out at that.

Evelyn opened her eyes, but stared at the ground ahead of them. “I never really liked it, but one day she asked me to try it out with her and, well,” She chuckled, “I ended up getting used to it, too, if only to have an excuse to grow closer to her.” Her eyes moved towards Helen’s body, the black, loose sweater covering her torso. “That is the last thing we made together, so it’s very dear to me, probably my most important possession.” And then she dragged her eyes up, to Helen’s. “So it goes without saying that I need you to keep it safe.”

Helen held her stare, finding herself at a loss of words. The fact that this was her last shared memory with her mother, the fact that she willingly _put it on her…_

“You’re giving me too much to think about with that declaration.”

Did Evelyn’s face gravitate closer to hers? “I want to stimulate you just as much as you do with me.”

She didn’t know whether she was focusing too much on those eyes or not at all. “That can mean so many things.”

She did see the wolfish smirk, though. “The subtleties of double speech.”

Helen bit her lip.

She was very much aware of the fine line they were treading.

And she hated it every second of it. And she loved every second of it. And she-

“I hate you.”

Evelyn had a knowing look to her eye. “You hate the fact that you don’t hate me. We’ve talked about this, Helen.”

Helen let out a breath, trying to disguise a chuckle. “I hate that you convinced me of drinking with you.”

“Don’t call it what it wasn’t; I _forced you_ to drink with me.”

“Did you put a gun to my head?”

“I-“ Evelyn shut her mouth, having been silenced by the smart response. “Okay, maybe not, but-“

“Then I agreed on my own.”

Evelyn opened her mouth, ready to speak, but then she shut it with a shake of her head and a smile on her lips. “What are you even trying to do now, Helen Parr?”

Helen’s expression mirrored hers. “Nothing, alcohol simply loosens my tongue.”

She gulped as she saw Evelyn’s eyes darken. “That’s very interesting.”

“A subject of study, I bet.” She blurted out.

“One that intrigues me.”

That made Helen bite her own tongue.

She wasn’t brave enough to ask her the dark question that rose in her mind; if it intrigued her enough to experiment.

But she was brave enough to pick up something she had wanted Evelyn to ask her about for quite a while now, the silence over the topic being unbearable for the Superwoman.

“I meant it.” She said and she saw how those familiar words rang a bell inside Evelyn’s head, for the woman was frowning at her, hoping she’d continue, so she did. “When I said you hadn’t left my mind ever since the _villainous monologue._ I think you were there from even before that, but I can’t quite tell; I hadn’t tried to rip you off my brain before it.”

Evelyn stared, her eyes slowly going all over Helen’s face, their steps becoming even slower. “You tried to rip me off?”

“And tear the memories of you apart, throw them in the river, watch them float away, never see you again.” Helen said, a certain dramatic tone taking over her voice, which made both of them chuckle. She sighed, “I never managed to do it, though. You were always there.”

“Always?”

“Every minute of the day.” She said, looking into hazy blue eyes. “Your words kept repeating themselves in me, as if they were this prayer I had to remember. As if they were setting themselves in stone.”

Evelyn was unfocused; it was a completely new look to her face, in Helen’s opinion. “Which words?”

“That we never really knew each other.”

Evelyn’s mouth formed an _Oh._ Of all things she’d said… “And why those specific words?”

“Because it was because of you that I realized that no one really knows me.”

And Evelyn saw, out of the corner of her eye, how that right hand over her shoulder moved, the flexible fingers stretching themselves a bit, reaching that spot on her wrist.

She decided to ignore it, for now.

_Pretend you saw nothing; She already knows you did, though._

Helen continued, “Remember the Elasticycle?” Evelyn hummed in confirmation, “Well, Bob was so surprised about it… He didn’t know I could drive motorbikes.”

Evelyn raised her brows. “He didn’t?”

Helen shook her head. “He didn’t.” A smile crept up her lips. “Just like he didn’t know about the Mohawk.”

Evelyn suddenly laughed, not having expected that. “ _That_ Elastigirl was fantastic; all punk-rocky.”

Helen laughed along, nodding her head. “He doesn’t know about that, either; not even a bit!”

“Then he doesn’t know much about you.”

And there was a sadness in Evelyn’s voice…

…It forced the air out of Helen’s lungs, as if she had been dealt a low blow.

The fact that Evelyn had been the one to do it, that look of both intrigue and sadness tainting her face only made it worse.

“He-“

“He surely knows a lot about Helen Parr,” Evelyn said, cutting her off. “But it seems he knows nothing about Helen _Truax.”_

“I did tell you that you’re always right.”

And she said it because _that_ was the problem, that was what had been keeping her up at night; the fact that Robert didn’t know Helen Truax as much as Evelyn already did.

It was her cross to bear.

“Well,” Evelyn began, “I believe there’s still a lot for me to learn about both.”

And Helen froze as she felt Evelyn’s free hand moving to the one she had over her shoulder, the inventor’s cold fingers grazing that spot on her wrist. Evelyn tried not to frown at the irregularity of the skin, focusing on Helen’s fearful look, instead.

“Isn’t there?” Evelyn added to what she had said before.

Helen merely gulped.

Evelyn noticed and looked away, straight ahead as they reached DevTech, but her hand remained where it was.

They were about to enter Evelyn’s lab through one of her secret passage ways, when the inventor halted them both, a mischievous smirk on her lips.

“Considering the state we’re in,” She said, and Helen had the feeling that the brunette had dragged her words only to emphasize their meaning, “I dare us to make it to the lab but taking the long road.”

Helen frowned. “The long road?”

Evelyn nodded, “Go to my floor and then all the way down, like the first time.”

Helen shook her head, “Why would we do that-“

“ _Oh,”_ Evelyn cut her off, “Is that what I think it is?” She asked, pretending to focus on some sound of sorts, bringing her ear closer to Helen’s mouth. She then looked at the Super again. “Yes, it was! The sound of _cowardice.”_

Oh, she was offended by that. “I’m not-“

“ _Coward.”_ Evelyn cut her off, a smug smile on her lips.

She opted for another answer. “Why would it be coward of me not to go _all the way up_ before we go _all the way down?_ Seems like a lot of unnecessary work.”

“Because we both know one of us will trip and fall on her ass when we make it to the long staircase.” Evelyn said, a shit eating grin on her face.

“And I bet it will be you.” Helen said.

It made Evelyn raise her eyebrows, an invitation on her eyes, “Guess we’ll have to find out.”

And she ended up accepting the inventor’s challenge, laughing as they made it to the elevator, still tangled on each other.

They almost fell as they reached the laboratory’s floor, Evelyn stepping backwards until her back hit the wall, Helen following her movements as she didn’t release Evelyn from her grip.

They got out of the lift, trying not to trip over the objects scattered around, reaching the Screenslaver diagram with relative ease.

Before Evelyn could move, Helen immediately released herself from the inventor’s grasp, raising a finger so as to tell her to wait a minute.

She looked for the secret button, pressed it and, when the elevator revealed itself, stepped into it first, offering the failed scientist her hand.

“Are you waiting for something, _Miss Deavor?_ ”

Evelyn watched her with foggy eyes, allowing the laughter that bubbled up its’ way through her throat to be released, closing her eyes and shaking her head for a brief moment, the familiarity of it all being endearing for her, so much that she took Helen’s hand, allowing the auburn haired woman to guide her.

The elevator’s doors closed and they began their descent.

This time, they could feel the other’s body, faintly pressed against their own, the lack of balance forcing them to support themselves on the other.

“You really need to put a light somewhere in here,” Helen whispered out, the silence of the small lift making her feel as if they were sharing a secret.

She felt Evelyn’s hot breath washed over her face as the woman let out a chuckle, “I never needed to.”

“It’s so _tenebrous_ in here.”

And then Evelyn’s voice became lower, deeper, as she murmured, “Nightmares don’t sleep in fear of me.”

Silence.

The sound of Helen punching Evelyn’s arm.

Evelyn’s wholehearted laughter.

The lift abruptly stopped and Helen found herself falling over Evelyn, the woman managing to catch her, only because her back was already forced against the wall.

“Oh, God,” Evelyn said and Helen could feel the smile on her lips, “This was _such_ a bad idea.”

“Shut up,” Helen commanded, standing straight, linking herself to Evelyn once more as they had done while on the streets, “There’s no turning back, now.”

And she was right. This time, Helen was right.

So they began their descent.

Helen felt Evelyn’s grip on her, tighter than ever. “What’s the matter?” She whispered, a certain taunting to her voice, “Afraid of losing the challenge?”

“You fucking bet I am.”

Helen gasped. “Evelyn! Manners!”

Evelyn laughed, “Shut the fuck u-“

She lost her footing.

Evelyn had shut her eyes closed, bracing herself for impact.

She didn’t fall all the way down, though.

Helen had caught her, an arm stretched enough to wrap itself around Evelyn’s waist three times.

The inventor opened her eyes and watched that arm with surprise, her eyes then following it to the owner, blue setting on brown.

“I think I won, this time,” Helen said, slowly bringing her arm back.

“You did,” Evelyn said, standing on her own feet as the Super placed her back on the same step as her.

“And what will my prize be?” Helen joked, holding Evelyn again as she helped the drunken inventor make her way downstairs.

Evelyn laughed, allowing herself to be guided through her own laboratory. “I haven’t thought about it, thus far.”

“You? Not thinking ahead?” Evelyn nodded, Helen let out a low whistle. “Man, now _that’s_ a shocker.”

“I know, right?” Evelyn said, a gentle smile on her mouth. “I guess you’ll have to ask for something and I’ll have to give it to you. How does that sound?”

Again, that fine line they were treading.

This time, though, the words came out before she could stop them.

“That sounds just about right.”

She could feel Evelyn’s eyes burning holes into her face.

They reached the bottom of the stairs and walked through the circular corridor, Helen ready to go to the inner chamber, not really aware of where she was headed at with it all, but Evelyn had stopped walking right in front of her bedroom’s door.

“This way.”

Helen didn’t find it in herself to argue.

They entered Evelyn’s room, the woman disentangling herself from the Super, dropping herself on the mattress, her back hitting it with enough strength to make her bounce as she let out a happy sigh.

“This bed’s always been ridiculously comfortable.” She said, kicking out her boots.

Helen chuckled, closing the door behind her, using it to lay her back against it, doing the same as Evelyn and taking off her shoes, too. “It is.” A cocktail of emotions started to brew inside Helen’s body, the woman biting her lip as she tried to gain control over it. “Hey, Evelyn.”

The woman sat up immediately, “Hm?”

What had she attempted to say? “Why can’t I call you Evie?”

Evelyn lolled her head to a side, her hands finding the mattress as she propped herself up with them, “Does it really bother you that much?”

Helen nodded vigorously.

It made Evelyn’s expression soften. “Could you come closer?”

But Helen still had her doubts. “I don’t know.”

The inventor had the courtesy of not interrupting her, offering her one of those cold hands, instead, “Come on, I promise I’ll be on my best behavior.” She raised her brows, “No cursing!”

It made Helen chuckle and drop her guard a bit, so the Super obliged, moving closer to the brunette.

Evelyn hunched forward a bit, allowing for her hands to find Helen’s, her thumbs going over her palms, right below her fingers. “I don’t like you calling me Evie because I associate it with family; Winston’s my brother and Summer’s the closest thing I’ll ever have to a sister.” She looked up into brown eyes, “That’s why they’re the only ones who can call me that.”

“And what about me?”

Evelyn’s soft expression seemed to glow as she smirked, “You can call me Ev.” She said, remembering what the Super had called her when she broke her out of prison. “I liked that one.”

“Does anybody else call you Ev?” Helen asked, closing her hands, catching Evelyn’s thumbs.

She felt as if she was choking on her own breath when she heard Evelyn mumble out a, “No.”

Helen bit her lip. Despite the alcohol inside her system, there was an alarm going off inside her head, screaming for her to change the subject.

So she tried, desperately, quickly shooting the question, “What did you learn about Rogue, today?” Somehow remembering that Evelyn hadn’t kept her part of the deal.

Evelyn looked into Helen’s eyes and sighed, her frame slumping a bit with the movement. “Can we leave that subject for tomorrow?”

“But Ev, we should-“

She didn’t know what had made her shut up; if it had been the look in those blue eyes, the usual coldness washed away, or if it had been how the inventor’s expression lit up upon hearing the nickname.

She exhaled slowly through her nostrils. “Tomorrow.”

“Thank you, Helen.”

The Super smirked. “You can find me a nickname if you want, too.”

Evelyn chuckled. “I know, but I happen to like your name as it is.”

Helen looked away. “Fine.”

Evelyn brought Helen’s hands closer to her and, as if she could feel what Evelyn was thinking, the Super opened her hands, allowing for the inventor to inspect the lines that adorned them.

Helen chuckled. “The scientist at work.”

Evelyn looked up, a look of awe in her eyes, “I find it interesting,” She said, then looked at her hands again, “A little blood, a sample of saliva. You send it to the lab and you see them try to declassify a deoxyribonucleic gas _just_ from one fiber, separating a strand, telling you percentages of descendancies, as if they meant everything and nothing.” She shook her head, “It makes me long to understand.”

Helen stared in silence.

Then Evelyn’s eyes moved to her wrist, her hands following the motion, both of her thumbs caressing the scarred skin. “Which takes me to other things I long to understand just as much.” She said, then looked up into Helen’s eyes. “What’s this?” She asked, curiosity making Evelyn’s eyes shine like neon lights, Helen too focused on them.

The auburn haired girl pulled away, her little secret being discovered, “No, I can’t tell you.”

And she had turned and was about to leave through the door, ready to open it and leave-

“Wait,”

She felt Evelyn’s hands, once again catching her by that wrist.

“Don’t go.”

And Helen knew she shouldn’t turn, she knew she should just shake her off and leave, but she turned.

And she came face to face with the failed scientist’s expression of dissatisfaction as she asked, “Why do you want to leave?”

Helen took a step closer to her, almost involuntarily. “Ev…”

And then Evelyn released her, physically telling her she could leave if she wanted, but whispered out the only thought the deep sea of her mind could make;

“I just want to know you.”

And it was all it took for Helen to give in.

The taller woman grabbed Evelyn by the jaw with both of her hands and forcefully pressed her lips against hers, her mind going completely blank, all thought erased as she finally surrendered to the one thing that she had been trying to avoid even thinking about.

All that frustration, all that bottled up emotion, all the anger and confusion and sadness and denied attraction; she poured all of what she was into that kiss, trying to get it out of her system, testing, trying to see if _this_ was what it took to finally rid her mind of the inventor caught between her fingers.

She whimpered when she felt Evelyn’s hands grabbing her by the waist, her lips moving against her own, reciprocating the kiss, but it all suddenly changed as she felt herself being pressed against the door behind her, forcefully.

Evelyn broke the kiss.

Helen opened her eyes and what she saw was the result of her testing.

She wouldn’t be able to get Evelyn out of her mind. Not now, probably not ever.

The Deavor sister was looking at her with hooded eyes, a frown that looked like a glare making them darker than they already were, her pupils dilated to a point that made Helen wonder whether she still had irises or not. It made her think of predators and prey; Evelyn as the hunter, Helen as her game.

Evelyn’s eyes scanned all of her face, as if looking for something. Unable to find it, she looked into Helen’s once more.

Painfully slowly, she leaned in.

She saw how Helen’s eyes closed on their own accord and the brunette followed the cue, doing the same.

She kissed her slowly, at first, studying Helen’s reactions to her behavior; the halted breathing that came out as long exhales, the hands on her face that moved towards her neck, taller woman hugging it so as to bring her closer.

Evelyn placed her palms on Helen’s hips and pushed her against the door.

The pressure made Helen whimper into her mouth.

She noted that as important information.

Without any trace of hesitation in her, though making sure to carry on with her actions as slow as possible, the brunette and ran her tongue over Helen’s bottom lip, feeling her shudder against her body. Then, she bit down, grazing her teeth against the flesh. It ripped a sound out of Helen’s throat, so Evelyn repeated the motion one, two, three times, before finally kissing her again.

It didn’t last long, though, for she was moving away from Helen’s mouth after an instant, leaving a trail of hot, wet kisses on her neck as she moved towards her collarbone, still making it as slow as possible.

She halted as she felt Helen’s hands on her neck become restless. She pulled away, looking into Helen’s eyes again. Without breaking eye contact, her expression neutral, but at the same time extremely intense with the sinful lust shining in her eyes, Evelyn grabbed both of Helen’s wrists and pinned them against the door, at both of the Super’s sides.

Helen looked like she was searching for something to do, something to match up Evelyn’s attitude, but that pursuit was immediately forgotten as Evelyn placed her right leg strategically between Helen’s, keeping her still.

With a warning look, she returned to her task.

She placed her lips on Helen’s collarbone, giving it a kiss before slowly licking it. When she felt Helen relax into her touch, Evelyn bit down, making the woman tense up again.

Satisfied by the discoveries made up to that point, Evelyn made her way up again in the same fashion as before, kissing her way towards Helen’s earlobe as she took it in her mouth and toyed with it, making the Super squirm, the Super accidentally pushing against Evelyn’s leg, her breath catching on her throat as she felt the pressure, making Evelyn’s intense focus shift ever so slightly, the inventor analyzing which approach would be the best for her to follow.

She released one of Helen’s wrists, her hand going to the woman’s jaw as she pulled away, just enough to look into her brown eyes.

She forced Helen to look at her. “I’m not going to tell you how wrong it is what we’re doing.” She sentenced, her tone heavy with something that was very, very far away of being guilt. “I’m not going to stop you. Do you understand?”

The intensity of Evelyn’s voice, the lack of the drunken breathlessness that had been there before, it all made Helen hold her breath, allowing for a dark creature to take over her mind and do its’ bidding with her.

So she released her other hand from Evelyn’s firm grip and, bringing them up between the inventor’s face and hers, removed the wedding band on her left hand, without daring break eye contact.

A vicious smile crept up Evelyn’s lips.

The inventor took the ring between her fingers and threw it to a side, neither of them caring enough to see where it had landed.

Then Evelyn’s lips were hungrily claiming her once more, the inventor still managing to keep her desperate actions in control, not rushing them at all.

Helen draped her arms around her neck, her left hand finding a grip on Evelyn’s shoulder, her right one quickly losing itself in the brownish locks of hair, earning a quiet, almost inaudible sigh coming from the inventor.

But Evelyn was moving once more, rendering Helen unable to think much about it as she firmly pushed her leg between hers, forcing her still as her hands moved to her hips and pressed themselves against them.

Helen forced her eyes shut, too lost in Evelyn’s touch as she felt the inventor slowly move to her neck again, kissing her way through her jawline, reaching its’ end before moving towards Helen’s pulse point.

As she reached it, she pressed her tongue against the woman’s neck, focusing on her pulse and how it quickened by the second, her eyes fluttering closed as she licked that sweet spot underneath Helen’s jaw, her hands making her way up, groping the auburn haired woman’s body over her clothing. Her hands passed over her abdomen, her left firmly moving towards her breast, then to her side, firmly gripping as the right one snaked its’ way towards her neck, slowly applying pressure as Evelyn bit down on the sensitive skin.

Helen tilted her head back, a loud moan escaping her throat, the sound catching on her mouth as Evelyn became fiercer with her teeth and the pressure of her hand.

The inventor opened her eyes, carefully pulling away, enough to look into Helen’s eyes again, that serious and intense look still on her face.

Evelyn tightened her grip a bit more, her yes still on Helen’s. The auburn haired woman saw the ghost of a smirk on the brunette’s face as she reacted, gasping for air but not rejecting the woman’s actions.

It was just then that the Super realized that Evelyn was studying her, testing her, analyzing the feedback for her motions.

The inventor pulled away completely then, disentangling herself from Helen’s arms and taking off her jacket, throwing it on her desk carelessly enough that she didn’t even look that way.

Helen’s whole body was tense with the desire to touch her, but she could see the order in the other woman’s eyes; _Don’t._

So she clenched her fists and bit her lip, watching Evelyn’s every move, the brunette turning around and walking towards the bed, standing right next to it, her back to Helen.

And then she didn’t move again.

Helen grew impatient and stretched her arm, trying to grab her and bring her back, but Evelyn had been waiting for that, exactly, so she gripped Helen’s arm and took the Super by surprise, pulling from it and bringing Helen towards her as the arm recoiled to its’ original position.

She dodged the Super’s stampede towards her, letting her fall on the mattress. Quickly, before Helen could gather her surroundings, she grabbed her by the shoulders and turned her around, forcing her back against the sheets, climbing her way up and straddling the woman’s hips.

Evelyn brought her face right above Helen’s, “No powers.” She muttered, but there was an intensity to her voice that drove the order right into Helen’s mind. “Is that clear?”

Helen didn’t move, trying to regain control over her breathing.

She saw a muscle feather on Evelyn’s jaw.

Before she could anticipate it, Evelyn’s hand found its’ way to her neck again, gripping hard as the inventor got lower and bit hard on Helen’s neck, making the super lose her self-restraint as she moaned loudly, her back arching as she searched for more contact.

“ _I asked you a question,”_ She growled, trying to conceal her own heavy breathing, if only to show the Super she could still reach for that cool demeanor of hers, even all riled up like that.

Helen nodded frantically, her eyes closed as she concentrated on the other woman’s body against hers.

It was enough, Evelyn decided.

The inventor slowly sat up, her whole weight on her knees and shins as she broke away from the woman underneath her.

The Super looked at her with a frown as she propped herself up with her forearms, her eyes falling over that arrogant face before following Evelyn’s hands.

“I want you to pay attention.” Evelyn said as she moved, going for her belt, unbuckling it and taking it off in one swift motion.

Evelyn then dropped herself on top of Helen once more, landing with both of her hands to each side of Helen’s head, the woman letting her head hit the mattress at the unexpected movement.

Evelyn then grabbed both of Helen’s hands and brought them up above her head, “No touching.” She said, “No getting feisty,” She added, “We’re playing by my rules, now.” She finished, leaving the belt to a side as she eyed how much clothing the other woman had on.

She grabbed Helen by her arms and yanked her up, the inventor crashing her mouth against Helen’s, her hands greedily finding their way underneath both sweater and shirt as she allowed them to roam the other woman’s back, feeling every muscle as they tensed with her touch.

Helen was gripping the hem of her shirt with such strength that she could feel her arms shaking with it.

Evelyn smiled against her lips. “Well done,” She whispered, pulling away to look into those hooded, brown eyes.

She licked her lips at the sinful gaze that stared back.

“Raise your arms,” Evelyn said and Helen obliged, lifting them up as Evelyn took both her sweater and Helen’s shirt off, laying them to a side, her eyes giving Helen’s white bra a quick onceover before pushing her back to the bed, her own shirt being lifted a bit as the movement made Helen bring her arms, still attached to Evelyn’s clothing by her hands, with her.

Evelyn didn’t waste any time, kissing the other woman again, her suddenly clear mind becoming foggy again with the intoxication of hearing Helen’s panting and whimpering at her ministrations.

She naked her arms underneath Helen’s back, unclasping the offending piece of fabric with ease. Before Helen could get it completely gone, though, Evelyn grabbed both of her hands and placed them on the mattress, keeping them there as she kissed her way lower, moving from bruised lips and jagged breaths to her jaw, a devilish smile painting itself on her lips as she licked down the length of the Super’s neck, hearing her mewl at the feeling.

Evelyn then continued kissing her skin, looking up into Helen’s eyes as she reached the loose bra.

She released one of Helen’s hands, her eyes intense with the order for the woman to _obey her_ as she brought her hand down between their bodies, snaking her way up again over her stomach, until she reached the white fabric again.

She slowly curled her fingers around it and pulled away, Helen’s only movement being how she raised her arms just to allow the piece of clothing to be taken off, Evelyn then throwing it away from them as if it were rubbish.

As dreadfully slowly as she had been doing thus far, and without breaking eye contact, Evelyn moved her head towards one of Helen’s breasts, fighting the smile that tried to make it to her face as she let her breath to ghost over the woman’s nipple, watching her shudder with impatience.

Still, Helen didn’t dare say a thing, fearing that Evelyn might draw back completely.

Evelyn decided to reward her patience, so she pressed her tongue against Helen’s nipple, licking up as slow as possible, letting the other woman savor every second of it.

The sound that came out of Helen’s mouth was unholy.

Evelyn’s own, apparently eternal patience started to break at the seams.

She continued licking up and down, swirling her tongue around it, her hands hungrily clawing at the woman’s hips, her fingers digging into her skin, until she had a better idea; she released her on one side and crawled her way up to the other breast, running her thumb over her nipple, trying to mimic the motions she was doing with her tongue.

Helen’s panting, whimpering and squirming was an interesting response to her own behaviors.

Evelyn moved her mouth towards the nipple she had been rubbing with her thumb and licked it up thoroughly, before going back to where she was before, grazing her teeth against the sensitive skin and, in rhythm with her other hand, that still imitated her mouth, she took it between her lips and sucked hard, her fingers pinching and pressing in an attempt to copy.

Helen arched her back, her eyes closed as she tilted her head back in pleasure.

But then Evelyn had an idea pop into her brain.

She moved until her mouth was just above Helen’s again, smiling at the protest in the other woman’s eyes. “It’ll be just a minute,” She whispered as breathlessly as Helen felt, holding herself up with the hand that she kept on Helen’s breast, so as to remind her she was still to obey, using the other one to grab the belt to her side.

Helen watched in both fear and lust as she saw Evelyn grab both of her wrists and slowly snake that belt between both of her wrists, tying them up haphazardly.

“We’ve always been playing by your rules.” Helen blurted out, keeping up the staring contest, her mind just now catching up with what Evelyn had said before.

Evelyn’s smile was sinister as she whispered, “And you’ve enjoyed _every minute of it.”_

And she was right. She was always right.

So Helen brought her head up again, catching Evelyn’s lips in a kiss, the brunette not finding it in herself to complain, as Helen had just defied her rules.

Evelyn quickly moved, her hands groping at every inch of Helen’s skin as she kissed her back, her tongue running over Helen’s before she bit down _hard,_ earning a moan that echoed its’ way down her own throat.

Evelyn placed her thigh between Helen’s, taking a moment to sit up straight, only to take off the Henley shirt, the heat becoming unbearable.

She couldn’t help the smirk that made it to her lips as Helen growled at the sight, for she hadn’t been wearing anything underneath that.

Evelyn would have lowered herself again, but she found that Helen was eager to give her a hand with it, as she took advantage of their shifted position, bringing the leg that she had between Evelyn’s up, making the woman fall on top of her, her breath catching in her throat at the contact.

Evelyn smirked down at Helen, feeling the woman move her thigh against her body, trying to gather her thoughts and concentrate enough to ignore it. “I’ll have to teach you a lesson of discipline.”

She forced Helen down as she pressed her whole body against her, Helen mewling at the sensation, her mind gone into overdrive as the woman above her kept doing these things to her, her touch surprisingly assertive for someone who had been having trouble standing without swaying.

The opportunity of fucking Helen Parr had been enough to sober her up, it seemed.

Evelyn allowed her weight to fall laterally only a bit, still being partly on top of the other woman, adjusting herself so that she was glued to Helen’s side, her leg still between hers, her hand snaking its’ way down to the waistline of her jeans.

She undid the button and moved the zipper, her hand moving past it, right between her underwear and the rough fabric of her jeans.

She smiled, a part of her bottom lip caught between her teeth as she looked down at Helen’s eyes, the other woman opening them up to stare right back at her, “Already?” She asked her, Helen understanding immediately she was referring to the wetness she could feel through the thin fabric.

Helen didn’t dare break eye contact, feeling as if she had to prove something to Evelyn, unsure of what, though.

It pleased Evelyn.

So she removed her hand.

And slid it back, between skin and damp cloth.

Helen’s eyes fluttered closed, a sharp intake of breath the only sound in the air as Evelyn watched her curiously, gauging her every reaction.

Her fingers idly moved over her slit, the inventor watching with parted lips and small puffs of air coming out of them, getting her digits wet enough to fulfill her task. When she was satisfied, she started sliding them up and down, enough pressure applied to make Helen feel it intensively, but not enough to actually please her needs.

Helen complained against her and Evelyn shut her up with a quick lick of her lips, Helen’s growl of complaint turning into a meek whimper.

And then Evelyn moved up, towards her clit and rubbed gently, her fingers circling it and pressing against the woman’s body.

She was enthralled by Helen’s reactions, how she moaned, how she fought to keep her eyes open, how she arched her back, craving for more contact, but her hands remained still, barely fighting the belt.

Evelyn could feel the woman moving underneath her hand, her hips rising to meet her hand, eager to make her go _faster,_ but Evelyn was going to drag it out for as much as she could, taking her time to know the Super’s quirks.

She felt her hand growing wetter by the second and Evelyn decided it had been enough torture, so she moved two digits up and down repeatedly, before halting right on Helen’s entrance.

And Helen knew she could pretend it wasn’t her. Helen knew she could close her eyes and pretend it was someone else.

She knew that, if she closed them and focused hard enough, she could pretend this was not Evelyn, but Bob.

But she didn’t close them as she felt Evelyn’s slim fingers enter her, the woman panting out a breath as she moaned in pleasure.

And she would have felt bad, she would have stopped, hated it, hated herself, hated Evelyn, for making her feel so much liquid pleasure going through her veins with every pump of those two fingers, entering her and drawing back far enough that she was almost out, before going back inside again, the constraints of the jeans she still had on being nothing to the mad inventor.

But she couldn’t, because Evelyn was there, being her intoxicating self, her breathing becoming as ragged as her own, those feline eyes still focused on her, still studying her, analyzing her, getting to know her, making her moan and crave more.

And then those eyes weren’t there anymore as Evelyn moved her head away, her lips immediately finding her mark as she sucked on her nipple again, making Helen cry out, unable to fight it anymore as she fought against the belt on her wrists, the Super being strong enough to release herself with no trouble.

Her hands found Evelyn’s body in an instant, her nails raking the woman’s back and eliciting a deep, raw moan coming out of the inventor’s mouth, the sound vibrating against Helen’s body as she kept on licking, biting, sucking.

Helen then brought one of those hands up to Evelyn’s hair, scratching it rather gently, until Evelyn pulled away from her for a brief second, eyes meeting so that she could bark one command at her, “ _Pull it,”_

And she didn’t have to say anything else.

With both hands, Helen forced Evelyn’s face against her once more, the woman groaning at the gesture, then moaning against her chest as she resumed her task, with Helen’s hands pulling fiercely at her hair.

Evelyn kept working her up, her fingers pumping in and out, her thigh mimicking the motion as it helped her push harder into her, forcing her legs apart, her teeth nibbling on the hardened nipple, switching between gentle licks and fiery bites, her other hand keeping her up above the Super by her forearm on the mattress, her own breathing jagged as she tried to keep herself in check, but failing to do so as Helen pulled at her hair with all of her strength, the pain sending what she knew should be an ironic wave of pleasure all throughout her body, making her swallow the moans she didn’t want to release.

So she focused on Helen underneath her.

It was the worst decision she could’ve taken.

The woman was a mess, her hands viciously gripping her hair like a lifeline, her hips bucking at the contact, moving along with it as her back arched into Evelyn’s body, her chest against her mouth, panting and moaning as she squirmed and trashed, desperate for release.

Evelyn looked up, her usually droopy eyes intensely focused, like a predator’s watchful gaze.

She saw Helen was looking right back at her, her head tilting back and her eyes closing only for brief seconds, but then she was back.

It made her insane with need.

And willing to keep on experimenting, too.

So she jumped out of the bed, her feet meeting the floor.

She didn’t give Helen time to realize what was going on as she grabbed her by the ankles and brought her closer to her, kneeling in front of her as the woman’s thighs reached the end of the bed.

Her hands immediately went to her jeans, index fingers hooking on the loops to each of her sides as she said, “Lift your hips up,” In an authoritative tone, the other woman taking no time in obeying, Evelyn bringing both jeans and underwear down in a harsh yank.

She took them all the way off, leaving Helen completely naked, her eyes not leaving those brown ones, yet.

But then Helen saw her glance downwards just once before meeting her eyes again, analyzing every move, every reaction the girl could have.

The Super was growing uncomfortable under the scrutiny, or perhaps impatient, even, for she seemed to resume her squirming, her breathing calming down a bit.

She stopped breathing altogether when she saw Evelyn lick her lips.

And it fell from her lips before she could stop it, “Fuck.”

And the devious smile on Evelyn’s lips was the only warning she received as the shorter woman looked downwards again and pulled Helen’s legs towards her, placing her head between her thighs, letting them rest on her shoulders as she wrapped her arms around her body, her slender hands gripping her backside with force, squeezing the flesh.

She looked up into Helen’s eyes as she slowly licked up once, testing the woman’s reaction to her behavior.

And then Helen was crying out again, not finding it in herself to look away as she moaned in synchrony with Evelyn’s tongue, the sensations making her mind go blank as she could only focus on that mad inventor and what she was doing to her, the World around them becoming nothing but an idle blur, lacking the mental clarity to see past those piercing blue eyes, any trace of haze completely gone from them.

Evelyn licked the arousal off Helen, her eyes closing on their own accord as she relished on the sounds Helen was making, her mewling, panting, squirming, moaning bringing Evelyn into a state of ecstasy she had long since experienced.

She pressed her tongue flat against her entrance, slowly dragging it up and letting the tip of her tongue flick Helen’s clit.

She opened her eyes again when she felt Helen’s hands on her hair, forcefully pulling at it and making her look at her before growling, “Are you done teasing me?”

Evelyn chuckled, her breath making Helen flinch unconsciously. Still, she made no move to continue, “Only if you swear like that again.”

Helen forced her head against her core, “ _Motherfuck-“_

She had to cut herself off to let out a moan as the more than eager to please Evelyn began licking her up again, slowly picking up the pace, savoring each moment, each sound earned, the taste of the other woman on her mouth as she gripped Helen’s rear harder, the Super’s hands growing restless as she tugged at strands of hair and scratched her scalp, the whole situation making the brunette moan just as much, too.

She thought of something else that might have a good impact on the whole situation and decided to act on it as she moved her right hand from Helen’s backside to her entrance, slowly introducing two fingers as she licked her clit, looking up to see how she’d react.

When Helen released an even louder, hungrier moan, Evelyn was certain her experiment was on the right track, heading to success.

But then her animal desire to make Helen come undone became stronger than her sinister little game of experimenting, so she picked up her pace, licking and thrusting faster and harder, feeling Helen move along with her actions, hips bucking in time with her fingers, with her tongue.

She felt Helen shaking with need, coming closer to that edge where she had been wishing to corner her for quite a long time, now.

Allowing her rhythm to ease the Super into it, she curled her fingers inside of her, earning a sinful cry from Helen as she rode over the waves of pleasure with each thrust of her hips, arching her back and throwing her head back.

Evelyn felt her clenching tight around her fingers but, somehow sensing it wasn’t enough, she wrapped her lips around Helen’s clit and sucked _hard._

And she didn’t stop as she felt Helen coming, hearing her cry out in ecstasy, her legs wrapping around her head with force, spasms making her muscles twitch and move erratically as the inventor slowly eased her back into a relaxed state, her ministrations slowly dying out as Helen did the same.

When she was certain the woman had had enough, Evelyn climbed right back up, straddling her once more as she held her by the jaw with her left hand, kissing her fiercely, a moan escaping her lips as she felt Helen wrap her arms around her neck, deepening the kiss, her tongue entering Evelyn’s mouth as she tasted herself off of her, grinning as she heard Evelyn’s helpless cry.

But then Evelyn was in control again as she pulled away enough to breathe out a, “Did you like that?” That had Helen nodding, her unfocused eyes trying to concentrate on those parted lips, until she heard another whisper, “Then knock yourself out,” As Evelyn brought her wet fingers between them.

And Helen’s eyes looked into hungry blue ones as she licked the digits, wrapping her lips around them and sucking hard.

Evelyn groaned, her face contorted into a glare that held no malice; just raw lust.

So Helen was kissing her again, only this time her arms wrapped themselves around the girls slim waist, bringing her impossibly close as their kiss grew hungrier, more passionate, until Helen couldn’t help herself anymore and flipped them over, forcing Evelyn’s back to hit the mattress as she took her rightful position on top of her, straddling her, not letting go her hands roamed her torso.

She didn’t get far, though, because Evelyn was stopping her with both hands on her chest, pushing her away.

Helen frowned at her, confusion mixing with lust in her eyes as she looked into Evelyn’s.

The inventor wanted nothing but for that woman to get her way with her, but she felt the need to rile her up even more, after learning she liked it _rough._

“Remember what you said to me on our first car trip together?” She asked the Super between pants, trying to control her breathing enough to let the words out. Helen didn’t, though, so she shook her head, feeling a shiver run down her spine as Evelyn grinned at her, “If I recall correctly, which I do, you called me a _masochist._ ”

Her expression mirrored hers, for there was no other word needed. “Change of plans, then.”

And just like that, Helen stood up, bringing Evelyn with her, shoving her against the nearest wall, her body pressing flush against her back, the inventor’s face to the wall as she brought her mouth close to her ear, “If you do so much as to breathe erratically, you’re getting punished.”

Evelyn chuckled, “What makes you think you’re in control?”

She couldn’t help the moan that was ripped out of her throat as Helen’s left hand tilted her head back by the hair, the auburn haired woman biting down hard on the inventor’s neck, her other hand cupping greedily between her legs.

And then, just like that, the contact was gone, as Helen pulled away and _spanked her, hard,_ still pulling her hair, the scratchy fabric of her Bordeaux jeans making Helen’s hand sting.

Evelyn froze.

She turned her head to a side, catching Helen’s eyes. There was fire where ice had once been.

“If you think you’ll be capable of _forcing me into submission,_ you’re dead wrong.” A smirk, even in the position she was in as she let out her voice in a hoarse murmur. “I just want it _rough,_ no games.” And she had the nerve to _wink,_ “Unlike you.”

It made Helen tick.

With a guttural growl coming out of her, Helen pushed her against the wall once more, her left hand holding her in place by her hair and her mouth finding its’ rightful place in the junction of her neck and her shoulder, biting hard as her right hand found her jeans’ button and undid it, immediately going to where she wanted it, the moist heat between Evelyn’s legs making her go insane with desire.

The low moans didn’t help, either.

“Already?” She asked, her voice sounding far more violent than Evelyn’s cool one had had.

The inventor growled right back at her, “You talk too fucking much.”

Helen pushed her head harder against the wall. “You’re one to talk.”

And she couldn’t help the moan that escaped her as she saw Evelyn smile and say, “ _Just like that,”_

So she obliged, her biting becoming harder, though she still switched between using her tongue and using her teeth, licking the spots of skin before she bit them, only to lick them again to soothe the pain, her left hand tangled in brown locks, pushing hard against the wall, her right one moving up and down Evelyn’s slit.

Evelyn had closed her eyes for a brief second, but opened them up again with defiance shining in them as she fought Helen’s grip, catching her off guard and managing to turn, her back against the wall as she brought Helen close, her hands raking down Helen’s back, the pain making the auburn haired girl bite down hard on Evelyn’s lip and eliciting a moan that came from deep inside the brunette.

Helen wasted no time as she crouched, releasing herself from Evelyn’s grasp and pulling her pants and underwear down with her, Evelyn raising her feet one by one to allow the woman to take it off completely, throwing it to a side as she did.

She got up again then, pushing Evelyn back into the wall by her waist, her lips crashing against Evelyn’s as she felt how the inventor went for her back, again.

But then she had a better idea.

She let go of Evelyn’s body to let her hands go to the back of the brunette’s thighs, using her strength to lift her up, the inventor’s back still flush against the wall. Evelyn’s legs immediately went around her waist, supporting herself as her hands moved towards auburn hair, grasping at it, though Helen’s strong grip on her legs still held her in place as they kissed, the Super too busy with the heat and pressure, too caught up in the smaller woman’s erratic breathing to care for anything but being her undoing.

She remembered Evelyn’s words, though, so she bit down hard on that lip, again, making Evelyn moan out in pleasure, again.

She released one of Evelyn’s legs, her nails scratching their way towards the inner thigh, making Evelyn groan as she reached her destination.

Without wasting much time, Helen’s hand moved up and down, getting her fingers damp enough. There was no warning as she introduced one finger, pumping in and out of Evelyn furiously, having had enough of their stupid game to see who could last longer without losing their minds.

Evelyn was still kissing her, her hands still pulling at her hair, when she felt her lips move to her jaw, the inventor biting hard as if to sign that she wanted _more._

And Helen knew her enough now to know what that meant.

So she placed her thumb against Evelyn’s core and rubbed generously, a smile forming on her lips as Evelyn’s frown deepened, the inventor opening her eyes to look into the brown ones.

Helen was enraptured by her.

Before Evelyn could say anything else, she added a second finger to her pumping and picked up the speed, her mouth moving to Evelyn’s neck, tongue pressed flat against her pulse point, the Super focusing on how her heartrate went up, too busy losing herself in the pleasure of it all to notice Evelyn’s nails on her scalp, the leg she still held, the one that had been released trying to find footing to her side, knees wobbly with the intensity of it all, her breathing ragged and her moaning loud.

She didn’t stop, didn’t dare go slower as Evelyn moved her hips to her hand’s pace as much as she could.

But then she whispered a harsh _faster_ into Helen’s ear.

And Helen didn’t need to be told anything else.

She picked up the pace even more, thrusting harder, plunging her fingers in deep until she reached her own knuckles, imitating Evelyn and using her leg to aid her, curling her fingers as she went as deep as possible, her thumb pressing itself against Evelyn’s clit when she did so, going _faster,_ going _harder,_ obeying each order that fell from those lips, her teeth nibbling at Evelyn’s pulse point, not daring stop until-

She couldn’t help the moan that escaped her throat as Evelyn cried out with the ecstasy that drowned her, tilting her head back, uncaring for how it hit the wall as her whole body twitched, spasms making her body become as erratic as her breathing.

Helen allowed for the inventor to ride it off, slowing down bit by bit, until the woman basically collapsed on her, forehead against her shoulder, one arm lazily hanging from her other shoulder as the other surrounded Helen’s middle, both arms linked by their intertwined fingers.

Helen chuckled as she heard Evelyn’s panting slowing down, releasing her leg and pulling out of her, bringing her fingers up to her mouth, watching how Evelyn’s head perked up and staring into blue eyes as she sucked her own fingers, a smile on her lips as she watched the angry frown on Evelyn’s face because, “You’re not sharing it.”

“I’m not.”

Evelyn wouldn’t have it as she kissed Helen, picking up her own taste off the woman’s very tongue.

Helen smiled, pushing her against the wall so as to break the kiss, “Greedy.”

“Stingy.”

Helen hugged the woman’s frame, walking backwards towards the bed, carrying the swaying inventor with her.

The back of her shins hit the bed and they both fell over it, pushing the clothing that laid on it to the ground, crawling underneath the covers.

They laid face to face, not touching each other much, but looking into the other’s eyes, Evelyn being the first one to break the silence as she said, “You’re stronger than I thought. And have a nice endurance, too.”

Helen chuckled, “I’ve got stamina and some muscle in me.”

“Just how I like them.” A wink.

Helen snuggled closer at that.

Silently, Evelyn’s hand found Helen’s wrist once more, her blinking becoming slower as the adrenaline slowly dissipated, her exhaustion catching up with her. Still, she managed to bring said hand up, her fingers daintily touching the irregular skin. “I still want you to tell me about this.” She confessed, a yawn escaping her lips.

Helen yawned, infected by Evelyn, her eyes as droopy as the inventor’s. Still, she was able to laugh a bit, a breathy sound to her voice. “It’s a very long story.”

“We’ve got all night.”

“I wouldn’t say so; most of it was spent in other _activities.”_

Evelyn smirked. “We’ve got what remains of tonight.” She said, correcting herself.

Helen’s eyes fell on her wrist, a sad smile on her lips. “I did many crazy things as the punk-rocky Elastigirl that had her hair styled in a Mohawk. Getting a tattoo was one of them.”

Evelyn frowned, her eyes darting from Helen’s face to her barely visible scar. “Tattoos usually have ink on them, Helen.”

“You were right in that diagram you have of me; I _am_ resistant to piercing wounds; the tattoo machine couldn’t make it past my skin.” She chuckled, “Dicker erased his memory of it and, without asking me any questions, gave me a surgeon’s card, someone who could give me a, as Dicker had called it, _invisible tattoo,_ if I wanted to get tatted, no matter the cost _.”_ She sighed through her nose, “It was my only choice, so I hired him; he burned the skin carefully with a laser; I used to call it my _hardcore tattoo.”_

Evelyn carefully traced the skin, trying to get a sense of its’ shape. “A _G?”_ She asked, frowning. “What does it stand for?” She raised a brow, before adding, “And don’t you even try to tell me it’s _Elastigirl’s_ G, because this one doesn’t have the E styled into it, like your logo does."

Helen laughed. “You caught me a minute before it was due.” She saw Evelyn’s intrigued eyes narrow themselves ever so slightly, sleep making them heavy, just like it did with her own.

So she smiled at Evelyn, kissing her once, “I’ll tell you tomorrow,” She promised, the high of their previous activities making her willing to share her past; the one no one knew.

“But I’m curious now.” Evelyn said, her eyes closing, her voice weakening due to sleep’s spell over her. “Could you at least tell me what the G stands for?”

Helen pressed her forehead against Evelyn’s.

And whispered the answer.

“Her name was Gail.”


	14. A secret for a secret

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Helen keeps her promise. Evelyn shares something of her own as payment. The deal they had between them is finally fulfilled.

Helen didn’t know when she had fallen asleep. All she knew was that she didn’t dare move.

She remembered last night, the exhaustion all over her body and the pain coming from several spots which she was certain contained bruises being reminders of it.

She knew she wouldn’t be able to forget it, even if she wanted to.

She didn’t, though.

What surprised her wasn’t that, but the fact that her head was on somebody’s chest, the slow rising and falling almost lulling her back to sleep.

A shiver ran down her spine as she felt delicate fingers daintily touch her back.

The body underneath hers tensed up at her reaction.

Then, as Helen opened her eyes, it relaxed again, for Evelyn got a clear look of those brown irises. “Hey,” she breathed out.

“Hey,” Helen murmured back, her eyelids heavy with sleep and her voice hoarse from last night’s overuse of it.

Helen’s eyes went over the other woman, taking her in. Evelyn’s voice and eyes were clear enough to show she had been awake for quite a while already, though she still had her bedhead, her hair disheveled in a crazy manner, wilder than she’d ever seen it before and she didn’t have any clothes on, a piece of information that pleased the Super.

She noticed that the inventor’s free hand was occupied with blueprints of some kind, her other hand too busy resuming its’ ministrations on her back, those fingertips running up and down her spine, the touch so careful that she barely felt it.

“What’s that?” Helen asked her, her eyes attempting to focus on the diagram trapped in the paper Evelyn held.

“I thought it would be a good idea to get a head start on work while you slept, so I’m double checking the changes I made to these blueprints.” Evelyn said, but then she placed them on her nightstand as she grabbed a mug and brought it over to Helen, “Coffee?”

Her mind had picked up what was implied between the lines, but Helen said nothing as she hummed a positive response, sitting up, her back against the pillows as she accepted the mug Evelyn offered her, the inventor picking up the other one that had been waiting on her nightstand and taking a sip as she readjusted herself, her side glued to Helen’s, her free hand snaking its way to the woman’s waist.

Helen noticed, “What do you think you’re doing?” She asked, feeling the inventor’s fingers draw circles on her skin.

Evelyn had her eyes closed, a contempt smile on her lips, hidden by her cup of coffee, “I’ve got no clue what you’re talking about.” She murmured, taking another gulp of her coffee.

She was well aware of Helen’s eyes on her throat as she swallowed, so she decided to make a show of it, lowering her cup, her face to the ceiling as she allowed the liquid to go through her throat.

She looked at Helen and saw her _glaring._ “Stop that.”

Evelyn smirked, raising an eyebrow as her head lolled to a side. “What?”

Helen tried to ignore it, taking a sip of her own coffee, finding out with a bit of surprise that it had milk on it, some sugar, too. “How did you know I take it like this?” She asked Evelyn, a frown of confusion on her face as she licked her upper lip, her eyes following Evelyn’s as the inventor looked at her mouth.

Evelyn set her cup on her nightstand again, looking at Helen with a surprised look of her own, as if she couldn’t have predicted such a question, for it was redundant. “What do you mean? You’ve always liked it this way. I mean, didn’t you take it like that in that meeting with the new Supers?”

_She got up from the bed before you, brewed you some coffee, prepared it for you in the way you like it, which she remembers from a year ago, then came back to bed with that_ and _her work, only to keep you company until you woke up, letting you cuddle up to her side and scratching your back while you did so._

That was all Helen could hear inside her head.

So she turned, leaving her cup on her nightstand.

Then, she lunged for Evelyn.

Without wasting time, Helen straddled Evelyn, grabbing her face forcefully with both of her hands and kissing her hard, their teeth clashing as she took the inventor by surprise.

Evelyn’s surprise didn’t last long, though, for she was smiling into the kiss, her hands greedily going around the Super’s waist, her tongue running over Helen’s bottom lip as she deepened the kiss, both women falling into a rhythm they had been practicing the night before.

“ _Good morning,”_ Evelyn whispered in between breaths, a groan escaping her throat as she felt Helen press her body against hers, grabbing her by the hair.

“Good morning.” Helen breathed back, claiming Evelyn’s lips once more, kissing her hard enough to bruise her lips once more.

The Super’s hands moved from Evelyn’s hair to each side of her face, cupping her jaw, a certain gentleness to the rough gestures as her body moved with Evelyn’s, the inventor’s hands finding her face, too, breaking the spell for a minute as she pulled away enough to ask, “What’s with you?” With a grin on her face.

“You remember how I take my coffee.” Came the silly answer.

It made Evelyn chuckle. “If this will be your reaction, then I’m memorizing your blood type next!” She joked, kissing the Super again, gently nibbling on her bottom lip before a thought made it into her mind and she released it, aware of the impact it would have, “Will you tell me about her, after this?”

It froze Helen. She had forgotten. She pulled away and looked into blue eyes, noticing how the coldness was still there, but it wasn’t off putting anymore; that was just how Evelyn was, always calculating, always learning.

Under the new lighting, that ice looked like a warmth invitation to learn alongside her.

She sighed, her legs moving so that she wasn’t straddling Evelyn anymore, but sitting on her lap instead, her arms draped around her neck. “That was _very rude_ of you, to cut me off like that.”

Evelyn chuckled, her arms still around Helen’s waist, “I can’t help my curious nature. I also can’t help remembering you _promised_ to tell me.”

Helen smiled, an apologetic look to her face, “This will be… this may be pretty bad, you know that, right?”

And she had to contain her breath as Evelyn grabbed her right arm, carefully caressing that scar. “Didn’t I say I just wanted to know you? That includes the bad parts.” She smirked, a know-it-all look to her face as she added, “You just started to accept that you’re not a pure white, why back down when we delve into the _other_ shades of gray?” Carefully pointing to the events of the night before with her wording.

Helen blushed, a chuckle escaping her lips as she planted a quick kiss on Evelyn’s lips. “You’re right, you’re right.” She said, then looked away, disentangling herself from Evelyn so as to inspect her own wrist, her fingers carefully going over it.

“I met Gail in high school; we were classmates. I was this crazy punk with a mohawk and she was the perfect, straight A student, well mannered, good behavior-“

“The example of what a perfect citizen who adds something valuable to the community would be.”

“She was way more than just that.” Helen said, a smirk on her lips as she glanced briefly at Evelyn before she looked at her hands, again. “She’d never break a law, whereas I would break it every time I could,” She added, laughing at her memories.

She felt Evelyn’s breath ghost over her ear as she moved closer, “And then you’d fight crime at night.”

Helen chuckled, “With my colorful arrangement of clothes and an awful lot of eyeliner all over my face acting as a mask…”

“Hey, you managed with what you had! That requires skill.”

Helen shook her head, laughing at Evelyn’s comments. “As it was expected, teachers forced us to sit together, just to see if Gail’s manners would rub off on me.” A fond smile made its’ way to her lips. “We didn’t get along at first. It all changed when I bumped into her one day, under completely different circumstances.”

“Circumstances of what kind?”

Helen looked into her eyes as she said, “She was using the name _Stratogale_ in this scenario.”

Evelyn’s mouth formed a perfect _Oh_ , though she remained silent, hoping Helen would continue.

And continue, she did. “From that day onwards, we started to grow closer. Eventually, Elastigirl and Stratogale started to meet _very often_ in the crime scenes.” Her thumb ran over her scar, gently. “Helen and Gail ended up being very good friends, too.”

She closed her eyes as she remembered the black haired girl. “Soon enough, I realized I felt something else. Being as rebellious as I was, I was open to the idea of maybe not being…”

“Straight.”

She cranked one eye open to look at Evelyn, “Exactly.” She closed it again. “I could tell Gail was feeling a certain way, too, judging by how her hand would linger longer over mine, her eyes would keep anchoring themselves on my lips…” A huff of a laugh. “She was terrified of it. I made the first move.”

Evelyn smirked, “And it worked.”

Helen looked at the inventor, “And it worked,” She repeated. “We became a thing, though we kept it quiet; neither of our parents were accepting of it, hers being way too opposed to it. Mine, well… They knew I was a riot of a kid.”

She stretched, her spine letting out popping sounds as she did. “Eventually, though, my teachers succeeded; she managed to tame me, but I made her a little wilder.” She brought her hand up, both Evelyn’s eyes and hers falling on that laser scar. “She got an H on her wrist, while I got this, after a little bit of effort. It was for our first year anniversary.”

But then that smile vanished as she remembered what happened near the second one. “Then, when we were in our Senior year…”

Evelyn didn’t need her to tell her. “The plane.”

But she would tell her anyway, so Helen nodded, “It was freefalling, Gail wanted to save them. She got close to it, trying to pinpoint where she’d have to pick it up from in order to balance it well over her head.” She shut her eyes closed. “She didn’t realize she was way too close to the turbine.” She clenched her fists. “The plane crashed afterwards, no one survived. Her accident was the first case opened against Supers.” She bit her lip for a second before adding, “Stratogale’s failure had been what fired up the Supers illegalization, Bob’s own lawsuit being the straw that broke the camel’s back.”

Evelyn’s mind sped up, going through all of the news involving Stratogale’s death that she could remember; People didn’t keep her name in their minds with pride for her good actions, keeping it stained instead, only remembering the one time she failed, her life lost on it.

_It only took them one bad act to turn a blind eye on all of the good ones._

“Does somebody else know about all of this? About you two being a couple, back then?” She asked Helen, sadness for the woman on her lap taking over her expression.

Helen nodded. “As a surprise for our second anniversary, Gail had hired Edna to create my very first professional Super suit; she’s the only one who knows, besides you and I.”

Evelyn felt her blood run cold in her veins.

_Her girlfriend died because of having a_ cape _and you suggested she had one added to her new suit. Great job, asshole._

Suddenly, she understood Edna’s unexpected outburst.

“I’m sorry.” Was all she could whisper out.

Helen looked at her with shock on her face, for she hadn’t expected such a reaction, “What?”

And Evelyn’s eyes were a bit glassy, she noticed, as she said, “I’m sorry for…”

She couldn’t finish the sentence; there were many things that she was sorry for.

Helen understood, though. Somehow, she had learned. She could understand her, now; Evelyn didn’t regret her choices, but she was sorry for the pain they put her through.

_We know each other._

So she leaned in, “It’s all good,” She whispered, before kissing her slowly. She smiled as she felt Evelyn sigh into the kiss, tension being released.

“I hope Edna can forgive the slip, too.”

Helen chuckled. “She definitely can and _will,”_ She said as she pulled away. “She likes your thinking way too much to let it go so easily.” She added, making Evelyn laugh.

Evelyn frowned, concentrating again, “So that’s how you met E, right? Through Gail.”

Helen nodded, “E’s designs were way too expensive for me, while Gail could afford them. For our second year, she had intended on surprising me with a custom made Suit, designed by E herself.” Her brows furrowed with sadness. “When Edna called me days after the accident, I was confused as Hell; I didn’t know anything. She ended up giving me the suit anyway.”

“The red and beige one?”

A hum of confirmation. “So the punk Elastigirl was gone, replaced by the new, meek version of her.”

Evelyn chuckled. “I wouldn’t call her _meek,_ but I must admit; Gail’s influence on your life explains a lot.”

Helen arched an eyebrow at that. “Yeah?”

Evelyn nodded, “Now I understand what happened to the anarchist Helen Truax who had saved all of her money to get some old bike and call it the _Elasticycle_.” She said, making Helen laugh.

“Yeah, she started to share this body with a completely different person; a mother of three called Helen _Parr_.” She joked, laughing. “Now, whenever I find myself in troubling times, confused and with no idea of what to do,” She looked at her wrist, her fingers caressing it, once more. “I ask myself; What would Gail do?” She smiled. “It helps me make the right choice.” She looked at Evelyn. “I’ve been asking myself that one question way too much, as of lately.”

Evelyn raised a brow. “Not the right choice, but the _righteous one.”_ She grabbed Helen’s face with both of her hands. “What about: what would Gail want for me _?”_

She thought about it for a second before answering, “She’d want me to be happy.”

“You should start asking yourself what _you want to do,_ too, instead of just asking what’s right.” A devilish smirk placed itself on her lips as she said, “Though I think you asked yourself exactly that, last night.” Helen’s eyes darkened at that, but Evelyn didn’t give her time to act on it as she grabbed her by her hand and placed her lips against that G on her wrist, whispering a small “Thank you for sharing.” Against her skin.

It was all a little bit too much for Helen. She had learned how to handle herself around the cold, curious, calculating Evelyn. She hadn’t learned how to do so with the warmer one, though.

Still, she was fully aware they were the same person.

Evelyn noticed her inner turmoil, so she offered an alternative to escaping.

“I can tell you a secret of mine, in exchange, if you wish.”

That made Helen’s desire to flee vanish as the intrigue took over. “I do, actually.” She said, her arms draping themselves over Evelyn’s shoulders once more.

She couldn’t contain the embarrassed smile that crept up her lips. “I don’t think you’re ready to hear this one, yet.”

_Now_ that _’s interesting,_ she thought as she complained, _“_ Oh, come on, Ev.”

Her smile grew. “I’m already regretting this. You know what?” She asked, raising a brow, “Forget I ever said anything.”

“Oh, _no._ ” Helen murmured, her hand stretching behind Evelyn’s head until it reached her jaw, forcing her to look up at her. “You’re _not_ getting out of this one, Deavor.”

“What happened with _you always talk yourself out of trouble?_ ” She tried, though even Helen could tell it was a halfhearted attempt.

“That card doesn’t have any effect in this scenario.”

Evelyn opened her mouth, ready to retort. It closed on its’ own, then she opened it again, a comical look on her face, until she finally sighed in defeat, her head hanging from her shoulders. “Fine, I’ll confess.”

Helen laughed at her dramatic display. “Own your sins, Deavor.”

Evelyn looked at Helen in the eye and let it out between clenched teeth, “I may or may not have had a time in my life in which, unsure of my sexuality, I dated…” She grimaced, “Handsome Jack.”

Silence.

Then, a hollering laugh.

“You’ve dated _who?!”_

Evelyn groaned and smacked her forehead with her palm, shaking her head as she did so, though there was a smile on her face. “I knew shouldn’t have told you.”

Helen was still laughing, tears forming on her eyes as she couldn’t reign in on her laughter. “ _You dated Gamma Jack!”_ She managed to say in between fits of laughter, before losing it again.

“I was discovering I don’t like men, thank you very much!” Evelyn responded, a chuckle escaping her lips as she did so.

“Oh, boy,” Helen said, wiping a tear from her eye. “ _Now_ I get why you hate Supers so much; you dated the _worst_ of us all!”

“I _know,”_ Evelyn said, Helen’s laughter proving to be contagious as she laughed, too. “He was so annoying! I mean, _he_ dated _me_ because he thought _I_ was a Super!”

“Wait, what?” Helen asked her, incredulously. “What power did he think you had?”

“Super intelligence.” Evelyn said, making Helen burst out laughing again. “He was so disappointed when I told him I was actually normal, he dumped me!”

“ _He_ dumped _you!”_ Helen said, tilting her head back with laughter, the movement being so sudden and unexpected by both of them that she fell from the bed to the floor. Evelyn couldn’t bring herself to worry, though, as she laughed at the Super, Helen too busy continuing with her own bellowing to even care about the fall.

“Honestly?” Evelyn began, trying to calm down. “I’m glad he did. Saved me from so much trouble.”

“He would have disintegrated you if it had been the other way around.” Helen commented, suddenly serious.

It made all mirth disappear from Evelyn’s face as she faced such a realization. “Oh, God, you’re right.”

They looked at each other for a long, silent moment.

They burst out laughing once more.

They laughed for a while, Helen unable to believe Evelyn’s failed attempt at giving men a chance, while Evelyn had already predicted this would be Helen’s reaction, though she hadn’t expected it to be _so_ strong.

But then Helen’s eyes fell over a golden ring that laid forgotten on the floor and her laughter died out.

Evelyn’s slowly subsided when she didn’t hear Helen laughing, anymore.

The Super stretched her arm, picking up the ring and sitting up on the floor, looking at it with a heavy sadness in her eyes.

Evelyn watched her in silence, her eyes following Helen’s shoulders as they rose with the deep breath she took and fell again with the sigh she released.

“You can wash your hands of it.”

She hadn’t expected Evelyn to talk, her tone so cold, so distant, once more. She hadn’t expected to have her looking into her eyes, the ice that had once been there making its’ return.

It made her frown.

“I can _pretend_ I’ve washed my hands of it, but it won’t change what’s done, what’s happened, let alone what I _feel,_ Evelyn.” She said, her seriousness finding its’ way into her voice.

It made Evelyn’s eyes widen. “What you _feel_?”

Helen’s resolve didn’t tremble, anymore. “Why else do you think you’ve stayed inside my brain for so long? It wasn’t only because you’re always right, you know?” She asked, her eyes going back to the wedding band on her hands, an even more stern look on her face. “I can’t say I’m proud, but I can’t say I regret it, either.” Her eyes moved towards Evelyn’s once more. “Nobody’s perfect.”

And she was relieved to see Evelyn’s coldness subside a bit as she responded, “Not even you.”

Helen raised a brow. “Nor you.”

And she had to fight the smile that threatened to appear over her lips as Evelyn made a face, saying, “I’d beg to differ, but I’m not big on begging.” She raised a brow, then, a sinful look in her eye as she said, “You, on the other hand...”

Evelyn laughed as she felt a playful smack on her arm, the Super having stretched her arm to slap hers.

“I’m _done_ with you,” Helen said, her voice devoid of anger. “I’m going to shower.” She got up and was ready to move towards the bathroom’s door, when Evelyn’s arms wrapping around her waist, her whole body pressed flush against her back stopped her.

“Should we share it?”

Helen turned, her arms over the shorter woman’s shoulders, as she leaned in for a kiss, but fainted it at the last minute, her lips quickly finding the angry hickey on Evelyn’s pulse point, her tongue licking it as she gave it a strong bite, eliciting a moan out Evelyn’s mouth, her nails digging themselves into her hips.

“No.” She murmured against her skin. “We won’t get anything done if you do.”

And Evelyn growled at that, both annoyed at Helen’s refusal and aroused at the whole situation, but let the Super go nonetheless as she released herself from the inventor and disappeared behind the bathroom door.

Not bothering to lock it.

A devilish smirk posed itself on Evelyn’s lips.

_I could go in, anyway._

Her hand was on the doorknob.

_she could kick me out if she didn’t really want it._

She was about to enter it, but then—

_Rogue._

White eyes made their way to her mind and, with a small shudder, she turned around, leaving Helen to her own devices as she picked up the blueprints once more.

She noticed the ring had been abandoned on her nightstand.

She smiled at that.

* * *

 

She was surprised Evelyn hadn’t attempted to join her in the shower, perhaps even a bit disappointed, but she had to admit that she was thankful for the silent truce, the mercy offered by the inventor’s absence: it gave her time for herself, to let the hot water relax her body and mind, ease her soul, too.

When she got out of the shower, she was surprised to find the bedroom had been tidied up, her clothes laid carefully for her over the mattress, that black sweater to the side, but still there, too.

She quickly got dressed, donning only her jeans and the sweater, ignoring the rest of the clothing and got out of the room, only to find Evelyn on the inner chamber of the lab, standing over her desk, a robe being the only thing covering her body.

She couldn’t ignore the _eyeglasses._

She approached the woman, entering the inner chamber, “Didn’t know you needed eyeglasses.”

Evelyn looked at her over her shoulder. “I don’t, these are magnifying glasses.” She turned to look at whatever she was working at. “They’re good.”

“For tiny work.”

She saw Evelyn’s head move up, staying still for a second, then she saw her nod her head up and down. “Tiny work.” She repeated, amusement coating her words.

She watched Evelyn for a while as she worked, modifying one of her inventions, one Helen couldn’t see from her spot against the glass wall, the inventor’s blue eyes darting from her altered blueprints to whatever artifact was between her hands.

After a couple of minutes, she stood straight and stretched, “Done,” She said, an air of triumph to her words. She turned around, taking those glasses off as she did so, a cocky look to her face as she looked at Helen.

“Are you done playing around?” Helen asked her in a teasing tone.

“I’m actually working for _you.”_ Evelyn responded, a raised brow on her face as she crossed her arms.

“Oh,” That brought a frown to Helen’s face. She remembered— “ _Rogue-“_

“If you sit, I’ll tell you.”

So Helen sat down on the loveseat, her eyes following Evelyn’s small frame as the inventor paced around the room, a scowl of her own on her face, one of her hands grabbing her other arm’s elbow, the free one tapping her index finger against her chin.

“I was able to gather enough information to confirm that Rogue is—“

“A mind controller.” Helen quickly breathed out as if it were a game of guess.

Evelyn loured at her. “No. _Don’t_ interrupt me.”

Helen gulped. Evelyn smirked.

“As I was saying before being _rudely_ interrupted, Rogue isn’t exactly a _mind controller,”_ She came to a stop in front of Helen, a certain urgency to her face that echoed its’ way into her words. “She’s a _hijacker.”_

Helen looked at her warily. “And what’s the difference.”

Evelyn crouched, her hands darting to Helen’s arms, holding her so as to make her pay attention. “What I did as the Screenslaver was exactly that, Helen; _enslave._ Everyone with goggles was just a puppet and I was the puppeteer. Mind off, you had no senses, no thoughts. You only had me.”

If Helen had found her example annoying, she didn’t mention it as Evelyn continued. “Rogue is _different._ She doesn’t control you; you follow her will and word on your own. Your mind is still yours, but she’s all over it.” She stood up from her position and dropped herself next to Helen, a huff escaping her mouth. “Unfortunately, all of our intel was delivered to Summer by people who have been hijacked by Rogue, so we don’t exactly know how it works.” She looked at Helen. “Summer told me everything she could, everything she knew and I was even able to see Rogue do it, but-“

She knew she had made a mistake when she saw Helen’s look of alarm. “ _Rogue was there?”_

Her hands immediately found her shoulders. “ _Relax.”_

But Helen was growing hysterical by the minute, standing up as she did so. “How can you tell me to relax if-“

“ _Helen!”_ Evelyn roared, a serious yet desperate look on her face.

It silenced the Super, who sat down again, slowly.

“Rogue was there just to hook up with someone. Sure, the fact that she was abusing her powers to do so is bad enough, but we _needed_ to let her do it and we _needed_ to let her go; it was the only chance we’d get to see her powers from up close without being on the receiving end of them.” Evelyn explained, searching for something in the Super’s eyes, her fingers digging themselves into the auburn haired woman’s shoulders. “Please, understand that I’m doing what will bring us closer to success, to Voyd, to He-Lectrix, to your family and _your life_ and just _calm down and listen!”_

She didn’t know when she had started to breathe heavily, the crushing weight of all of Evelyn’s words being far too much for her to carry.

“Helen,” Evelyn tried, her voice calm enough for Helen to call it _soothing._

Helen’s breathing slowly evened.

Evelyn nodded once, as if pleased by her behavior.

“May I continue talking?” Evelyn asked her, aware of the impact her words had on the Super.

Helen nodded. Evelyn mimicked.

“Judging by what I saw and by what Summer told me, Rogue’s powers don’t exactly work as mind control does. She doesn’t hypnotize you. Instead, she manages to, somehow, align her victims with her own beliefs, make them blind followers. She can see into your mind, or hear it, or read it, _I don’t know exactly,_ but her range of skills is far too wide to catalogue; Anything involving your mind, she can do it.”

“And how on Earth are we going to catch someone like that?” Helen asked her, suddenly irritated by Evelyn’s words, a hand going to her forehead as she ran her fingers through her bangs. “There’s no possible way of ever defeating someone who can do all of those things.” She shook her head, a devastated look on her face, “We’re _screwed-“_

She was silenced by Evelyn’s hands as they cupped her face, making her look up into blue eyes. “I’m not done talking yet.”

So Helen quieted down.

And Evelyn continued. “Summer informed me of a thing she’d noticed; Rogue seems to avoid drunken women, not even trying to get into their heads.” She noticed Helen’s frown of confusion, how the Super remained quiet, waiting for her to explain. “It would seem she cannot quite manipulate those with an altered state of mind.” She grabbed Helen’s jaw firmly with her thumb and index fingers, “ _That’s_ the _first_ chink in her armor we know of and, therefore, the one we must exploit.”

Helen’s eyes narrowed as she thought of Evelyn’s words. “Any clue as to how we’ll manage to do that?”

And she tried not to groan at the strained, grim look on Evelyn’s face. “I’ve got an idea, but you’re not going to like it.”

Without another word, Evelyn stood up, moving towards her desk and grabbing something from it. She came back to Helen, standing in front of her as she showed it to her.

Helen’s head lolled to a side as she inspected it. “My mask?” She asked, picking the black object up and looking at it.

“Not exactly,” Evelyn responded. “Your suit’s mask is on the desk, this one’s just a replica.”

Helen shook her head, “I don’t understand.”

Evelyn sat down next to her, a certain softness to her face as she tried to muster up the words necessary to drop the bomb without making Helen explode. She closed her eyes as she decided to simply say it, “It’s a hypno-mask.”

She noticed how Helen flinched, the reaction making her flinch, too.

“Ev—“

“Helen, trust me when I say that if I had come up with another solution, an alternative to this plan, then I would have offered that one instead, hypnosis being completely out of the table.” She quickly said, a severe expression on her face as she did so, blue eyes scorching on brown ones. “But unfortunately, we’re almost empty handed; we’ll have to take our risks and experiment.”

“ _Experiment?”_

“I cannot promise this will work. If my calculations and deductions are both correct, then it should, but I can’t make you that promise.”

It dawned on Helen, then. “This is what you were doing before, with the blueprints in bed.”

Evelyn nodded. “I made some big modifications to the hypnosis mechanisms. Haven’t tried them out, yet, but I wasn’t going to do so unless you were willing to explore this plan.”

Helen inspected the mask on her hands for a long, hard minute, biting her lip as she did so, her brows furrowing in concern.

Evelyn watched her with caught breath.

After a moment, Helen placed the mask over her eyes and looked at Evelyn. It felt heavier than usual.

The inventor had to grip the loveseat forcefully, if only to avoid falling or kissing the other woman, for it was too much trust the one she was placing on her hands.

“Show me those modifications.”

Evelyn gulped, not daring move her hands from the loveseat’s armrest behind her as she tried to find her voice to speak. Finding herself unable to do so, she stood up and paced the room, closing her eyes so as to avoid looking at the Super. “This new mask, once I turn it on, will make you fall into a dream-like state. You’ll be aware of everything that happens all around you, as if you were lucid dreaming, but I will be the one mostly in control.”

Helen noticed that. “ _Mostly?”_

Evelyn nodded, still pacing slowly, her hands exaggeratedly moving around her as she gesticulated. “Since you’ll be dreaming, your conscious mind will be turned off, leaving your subconscious to do as it pleases, so you’ll be rather unpredictable. You won’t be able to willingly choose what to do, how to move, but you’ll respond to stimuli and you’ll move on your own accord if I’m not around to command you to do so.”

She came to a stop right in front of the Super, a plea in her eyes. “This is as close to consciousness I could bring you, while keeping you away from Rogue’s claws. Do you understand?”

Helen stood up, her gait confident as she moved towards Evelyn, her hands on each side of her face, a small smile on her lips. “I trust you, Evelyn. It’s okay.”

_I trust you._

Evelyn brought her hand to the back of Helen’s neck and crashed her lips against the Super’s, her other hand clawing at her waist.

“I’m going to lose my mind,” Evelyn mumbled against Helen’s lips as they pulled away, earning a chuckle from the Super.

“Try not to, since I’ll be the one doing that.” She joked, making Evelyn bark out a laugh, despite how dark the joke actually was.

But then, Evelyn’s laughed died out as she grew serious for a second, “Should we test them?” She asked, making Helen nod. “Okay,” She breathed out, suddenly nervous as he made her way back to the desk, Helen refusing to let her go without her, following her closely, her arms still around Evelyn’s waist.

Still in the Super’s grasp, Evelyn turned to look at Helen once more, showing her a small device. “This thing will turn them on. Are you ready?”

“Let’s do it.” Helen said, quietly anchoring herself to reality by gripping Evelyn’s waist with more force than necessary.

So, without drawing it out anymore, Evelyn turned them on, watching as Helen took a sharp breath and her eyes became foggy, the screens right in front of them emitting faint lights that brought her into a slumber-like state.

“Can you hear me?” She whispered and watched as Helen nodded her head, a small _I can_ escaping her lips in a murmur. “Perfect.” She said, her hands trembling a bit. “Release me.” She commanded and Helen obeyed, watching her own hands as she finished following her order. “Walk to the loveseat and take a seat.”

“Right.” Helen murmured as she did so, taking a seat and relaxing onto the cushions.

Evelyn let out a long exhale through her mouth. “Come back here.”

“On it.” Helen said, her voice being a sleepy mumble. She walked until she was right in front of Evelyn.

The inventor looked at Helen as the Super checked her out, her eyes roaming her figure up and down, her head moving with the motion.

She raised a brow as Helen smirked, her tongue coming out of her tight lipped smile as she licked her lips, hiding away after a brief second, hands twitching at her sides.

“ _Okay,”_ Evelyn breathed out, then brought up her hand, showing Helen’ four fingers. She saw how Helen’s eyes followed the motion, then turned the mask off, watching as Helen’s eyes became clear again, the Super shaking her head once. “Are you okay?”

“I am,” Helen said, trying to gather her surroundings.

“What did just happen?” Evelyn questioned.

So Helen focused hard on what she could remember and began her retelling. “You made me walk, sit, showed me four fingers…” Her eyes moved to Evelyn’s robe. “Did I take your robe off at some point?”

Evelyn hadn’t expected that one.

She laughed out loud, “Well, that proves you definitely were thinking about doing it, but you didn’t.”

Helen blushed, a nervous laugh escaping her lips, “Oh, well. At least that proves it works.”

“It does,” Evelyn said, nodding her head.

“So, now, what do we do?” Helen asked, seriousness on her face as she took off the mask, “How do we track Rogue?”

“I’ve discovered the family her goonies had attacked had a direct line to Frozone, so this is what we’ll do,” Evelyn said, her hands no longer fluttering. “I’ve linked my computer to his phone, so every call he receives, is actually redirected towards us and we get it instead of him.”

Helen nodded. “She thinks she’ll get Frozone, but she’ll get Elastigirl instead. Perfect, I’ll get on my suit now, then, just to be ready.” She looked at Evelyn and cocked her hip to a side, raising a brow as she said, “You should get a shower.”

Evelyn chuckled, a witty remark about to make its’ way to her lips when an alarm went off, the screen around them turning on.

Evelyn frowned. “That’s her, there’s no time for talk.”

So Helen quickly made her way to Evelyn’s room and changed clothing, her suit fitting her like a glove.

She made it back to Evelyn, who handed her an earpiece, “I’ll be with you once you’re there.”

Helen frowned as she got her mask on, the earpiece, too. “Once I’m there? What about before?”

“I _definitely need_ that shower.”

Despite the tension of the moment, Helen laughed.

Once she was ready to leave, Evelyn opened the secret passageway that led to the streets and Helen was about to leave having already turned to look at it when Evelyn’s hand gripping her bicep with strength forced her to turn around.

She found herself crashing against the inventor’s lips. “Try not to get yourself killed, okay?” She whispered against the Super’s mouth. “We still don’t know what she’s after.”

Helen smirked, her tongue coming out of her mouth to lick Evelyn’s bottom lip, a shudder going down the shorter woman’s spine. “I’ll do my best.”

And without any other farewell than that, Elastigirl left Evelyn Deavor behind.

_Time to work._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, I know... Gamma Jack? Really, Ev?
> 
> Leave 'em thoughts below!


	15. Power's out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With Evelyn's new toy, Elastigirl finds herself ready to face Rogue.

She was nothing but a shadow moving past anyone’s prying eyes as she made her way through the city, the evening’s lights bathing her in an orange light.

Elastigirl navigated the city’s streets with ease, doing anything, from stretching to recoiling, jumping, running, everything but stopping, focusing on reaching her destination as quickly as possible, avoiding being out in the open as much as she could, for her suit was far better for stealth at night than her previous ones, but definitely proved counterproductive during daylight.

Small grunts and groans escaped her lips as she focused on her movements, her hands grasping streetlights at the last possible minute before she reached the ground, throwing her up and into the air once more, the Super looking more like a monkey making its’ way through the forest than like a woman. A very elastic one, at that.

She couldn’t help but rejoice in how comfortable the suit actually felt. Sure, every design Edna had prepared for her had been nothing but wonderful, the fashionista outdoing herself every time but, in this case…

The black suit was the first one to _really_ feel like a second skin. It disturbed her just as much as it thrilled her how the costume was barely noticeable: Helen could have sworn she had nothing on her, for the way she felt the wind around her was way too natural, far too realistic.

Then she remembered the _fascinating_ new features her Super suit included.

_Speaking of which…_

“Ev?” She called out, trying to see whether the woman had made it back to her or not, the inventor having left to take a quick shower.

No answer.

_Must still be at it._

She kept on swinging her way around the city, trying to make it to the place Evelyn had told her the call had been made from: some building complex, twenty minutes from their position.

Helen had considered taking the Incredibile, but then she had thought how it may be a giveaway, opting for the long road, instead. Evelyn had given her directions and then left, having done so somewhere near five minutes ago.

She heard some shuffling over her earpiece and held her breath, focusing on the sounds she heard over her ear, trying to gather what was going on, though she believed it was nothing but—

_“Okay, I’m back. Did I miss much?”_ Evelyn asked, her own breathing somewhat agitated.

“No, not any action yet, although I’m getting close.” She frowned, a small smirk in place, “Did you run your way back to the comm?”

A distorted huff of a laugh. “ _Maybe, maybe not. You’ll never know”_ She heard Evelyn say right at the same time as some more ruffling happened somewhere near Evelyn’s own headset.

“Are you drying your hair just now?”

_“Yes, with a towel._ ” Evelyn said, the low noise that came over her side of the communication suddenly going up, as if to emphasize her words. “An air blower would have been too loud.”

It made Helen laugh.

_“What?”_

“Nothing. Did you at least get dressed?”

And Helen had to bite her lip, for she swore she could _feel_ the mad inventor’s smirk as she said, “ _Now, now. There’s no time for phone sex, Elastigirl. We’ve got a serious thing between hands, right now.”_

“Shut up,” Helen said, her mirth disappearing suddenly as she realized she was already on her destination. “I’m here,” She breathed out, as if someone would hear her, were she to speak louder.

_“Okay, they should be on the top floor.”_

_“_ Got it.”

She gripped two street lamps that flanked her and unsprung herself, stretching as much as she could, before recoiling and letting the gathered impulse shoot her high in the air, aiming for what she had counted to be the thirteenth floor of the building.

And then, as if she had read her thoughts, Evelyn commented, “ _Unlucky thirteen.”_

Helen nodded, despite being aware that the woman couldn’t see it. “Didn’t figure you as the superstitious type.”

“ _I’m not, though life has a knack for foreshadowing its’ future events. That much I’ve noticed.”_

Helen made it to the roof, landing expertly as she rolled forwards, gathering her surroundings with a quick scan of her eyes. “Let’s hope that’s not our case, shall we?”

A hum. _“Let’s expect it to be, though.”_

“Agreed.”

With the quiet stalk of a cat, Elastigirl made her way through the roof, towards the entrance to the building.

She didn’t even try to open it, sliding her way through it underneath the door, her careful steps showing her elasticity every time she moved, for her limbs all managed to follow with a supernatural flow, an ease impossible to any other human being as her body seemed to serpent itself in rhythm with her own breathing, her own stepping, no sound coming out of her movements.

She reached the top floor.

“Which door is it?” She asked in a hushed whisper as she looked around: there were four doors around her.

“ _The call was made by the Harrison family, who I’ve gathered live on the apartment 13C.”_ A pause. Then, _“Do you think they’ll have something to do with George Harrison?”_

Helen rolled her eyes. “Hardly the time for that, Ev.”

“ _It’s always a good time to ask if you’re related to a Beatle.”_

Helen moved towards the door. “Didn’t figure you to be a Beatles fan, either.” she said, adding the comment to what she had said before about Evelyn being superstitious.

“ _I’m educated, Truax. I like to know a little bit about everything, music included.”_

She decided not to comment on the last name Evelyn had chosen to say out loud, if only because she was already at the door.

She flattened herself against the ground and looked into the apartment. She couldn’t see much, only being able to see feet and whatever was against the floor but, effectively, there were several pairs of boots pacing around a group of kneeling people.

“I’m going in.” She warned Evelyn, though she didn’t actually follow through until she heard the quiet _Ok_ coming from Evelyn’s side of the comm.

As if she were liquid, she made it to the other side of the door. No one saw her, so she immediately stretched herself high against the ceiling, her limbs being concealed by the dark door and the ever approaching darkness of the night.

She analyzed the scenario in front of her; Three heavily armed thugs were pointing their guns at a family of three that consisted of two men and a small kid.

“ _Keep it together,”_ Evelyn whispered into her ear, the smooth tone of her voice feeling as if the woman had physically held her back, snaking her arms around her waist and her chest, back pressed against the inventor’s chest and her lips against Helen’s ear.

So Helen let out a shuddering breath and collected herself, reaching out to her own, inner cynic, her own, inner genius of possibilities and outcomes, and analyzed what would happen in each scenario she could think of.

_A direct attack on the thugs could possibly end with injured hostages and that’s not going to be part of the deal._

It proved to be a hard task, though, for her own experience made her want to rip their heads off, no room for gentleness whatsoever.

For a moment Elastigirl thought Evelyn shared certain abilities with Rogue, for she answered the unasked question she had floating around her mind with ease, “ _Maybe try being a barrier between the family and them. Get them out of here and kick their asses.”_

So Helen heard her advice and decided it was her best shot.

In what appeared to be less than a second, the goonies had to take a step backwards as a black _thing_ with no shape fell from the ceiling, engulfing the family and covering it completely.

Bullets started to rain down on Elastigirl, ricocheting off her super suit as they reached her, while the woman extended one of her arms towards the window that was on the wall that faced the main entrance and broke it open.

One of the thugs fell to the ground as one of the bouncing bullets shot itself back at him, finding its’ mark on his shoulder.

As the cool Autumn air entered the apartment, Elastigirl tightened herself around the two men and the kid trapped inside the dome she had built with her own body and moved towards it, pushing past one of the thugs that laid between her newly made exit and her.

She jumped out of the window, hearing the family’s screams as they didn’t know what was going on, stretching her arms to grasp the roof’s edge.

Once she managed to catch concrete between her fingers, she forced herself up, reaching the rooftop in no time, leaving the family on it, standing idly as they looked at each other and hugged in both relief and worry.

Elastigirl reshaped into her normal form and looked at them, offering them a small smile. “You stay safe now, I’ll handle it!”

They seemed confused about both her presence instead of Frozone’s _and_ her new attire, but they didn’t question it as they nodded and thanked her, moving towards the fire exit, trying to find an alternative way out.

Elastigirl made her way towards the apartment once more, finding the thugs there, one of them on the ground, bleeding profusely and other seemingly talking into his comm, “ _Elastigirl’s here!”_ He barked at it and Helen swore she had heard it on her ear.

She knew she had once she heard the answer, Rogue’s unmistakable voice as she responded, “ _Bring her to me.”_

So Elastigirl sprung into action.

Aware of the fact that the one on the ground didn’t seem to have much time left, his demise being his own fault, she moved towards the one she had punched while making her way out, wrapping her arms around his body and trapping him, her limbs going around his neck several times, tightening until he was choking for air, the stranglehold forbidding both air and blood from moving towards his head and quickly making him pass out.

As she freed him and the thug fell to the ground, Helen watched the other one run away.

“ _Police is on the way, follow him!”_ Evelyn ordered her.

She didn’t have to say more.

Without thinking twice about it, Elastigirl ran after the escaping goony, “What should we do about him?” She asked in a rushed sentence, wondering whether they should take him hostage and interrogate him or not.

“ _He probably doesn’t know much about Rogue’s plans, she can control them without having to tell them. We’ll need to reach her.”_

_Follow him to the lion’s den, then, “_ Got it.”

So she slowed down, allowing him to run ahead of her as they both finally hit the ground level and the man jumped into a car that had been waiting for him.

As the car sped up, Elastigirl followed with ease, this time being fully aware of how easy they were making the chase for her.

She hadn’t been expecting the bullets that suddenly started to reach her as the felon she had been trying to catch started to shoot at her. “Unexpected, much.”

“ _They’re probably putting up a show for you. Don’t pay much attention to it.”_ Evelyn said, making Helen nod in silent agreement as the Super focused on what she could hear, instead, realizing there were machine purrs on her ear.

“What are you doing?” She asked, a confused frown etching itself on her features as she dodged bullet after bullet.

“ _Hoping for the best but expecting the worst. Don’t mind me.”_ Evelyn responded and Helen became aware of the fact that the mad inventor wasn’t going to share any more with her, this part of the plan being only for her to know and for the auburn haired woman to find out, eventually.

“Okay,” She said back, though it unnerved her being in the dark with whatever scheme Evelyn had between hands.

_It’s probably better if you don’t know, though. There’s a reason why she’s not telling you._

Elastigirl saw the car turn left and, as she made her way around the corner, realized it was a dead end.

Knowing they had reached their destination, for it all seemed way too familiar now, she made it to the rooftop of one of the two buildings flanking the alley, giving herself different escape routes in case things went south.

_“You’re going under right now, H.”_ Evelyn murmured, warning the woman before she did anything to her.

“Do what you must.” Helen responded, the curious new nickname feeling like balm on a fresh wound, bringing a warm feeling to her chest.

“ _Light’s go down.”_ Evelyn whispered.

And that was all Helen could remember before she fell into the maze.

* * *

 

Evelyn grit her teeth; she had enough on her plate already, working on a _side project_ in case things didn’t go right. Now, she also had to pilot Elastigirl.

“Okay, let’s do this.” She said, more to herself than to the Super on the other side of the line, who still agreed with her through a sleepy mumble as the inventor rolled her sleeves up and picked up several tools, approaching her _Plan B._

She looked at the scene right in front of Helen through the screen that surrounded her, her attention splitting in two as she watched over her Super with a cautious eye, but kept monitoring her secondary task, as well.

Rogue appeared below her, looking up, corrupted Supers flanking her, Voyd, He-Lectrix and Mr. Incredible among them. She couldn’t quite see the rest.

“ _What are you doing up there? And what's up with the new suit?”_ The sinister woman asked, her tone just as dark as her intentions. “ _Come down and_ play.”

That spiked Evelyn’s attention, that demon smirk of hers drawing itself on her lips as she breathed out her order for Helen, “Repeat after me.”

* * *

 

“I’m not being fooled twice, you know?” Elastigirl casually responded, loitering around the rooftop she was currently on. “You may think you’re smart, but I’m better than you think.” And there was something entirely not hers on her face as she smirked and said, “I’m better than you.”

Rogue clenched her jaw as she grit her teeth at the taunting. “Oh, so you think you know my tricks, huh?”

Elastigirl nodded, a loud hum of confirmation growing from her chest. “You’re no shocker, _Eleanor.”_

The blonde smirked. “ _Oh,_ so we know each other? Interesting.” She commented, cocking her hip to a side as she folded her arms in front of her.

But then Elastigirl’s demeanor suddenly changed, as if she had triggered something with her words, for the woman was shaking her head, a serious look on her face as she said, “We don’t know each other.”

Rogue raised a brow at that.

Evelyn bit the inner side of her cheek.

“ _It’s okay, Helen.”_ She cooed, trying to bring Elastigirl back to where they had been before Rogue said what she said. “ _Try not to deviate from the script I’m giving you, okay?”_

_“_ Fine.” Elastigirl mumbled, something Rogue didn’t catch. “As I was saying,” She said out loud then, calling the blonde’s attention. “We don’t know each other; you’re just annoying enough your name made it to my ears.”

Rogue huffed a laugh at that. “Oh, now that’s interesting. And where did you hear my name, Elastigirl?”

Elastigirl hummed in concentration as she tapped a finger against her chin. “Hm, I don’t know, really. Can’t remember. The sewers, probably.”

Rogue laughed, “Well, that’s exactly where you’ll end.” She looked at something over Elastigirl’s shoulder. “And all because you thought yourself better than me.”

And right as Voyd, who had sneakily portalled her way behind Elastigirl, tried to catch the Super, the auburn haired woman jumped, making it to the other roof thanks to her elasticity.

As she landed, she saw a portal open up and Mr. Incredible got out of it.

Helen gulped. Evelyn heard.

“ _I know he looks like Robert, but trust me when I say that’s not him.”_ Evelyn tried, seeing if she could persuade Helen to believe her instead of believing her own eyes.

_“_ A doppelgänger?”She murmured, licking her lips as her mouth went dry.

“ _Exactly, so we’d better knock him out.”_ Evelyn said, carefully choosing her words so as not to command Helen to do something rash.

And Evelyn needn’t to say anymore.

Elastigirl’s body locked with confidence, the trembles finally gone, as Mr. Incredible charged for her.

A second before his fist reached her face, she crouched and stretched horizontally, reaching his sides and allowing his feet to get tangled on her torso.

He fell to the ground face-first, but used the momentum to continue rolling and get on his feet, turning around immediately after standing up and looking at her, pissed off.

Elastigirl simply waited for him.

So he charged once more, right fist high in the air, already recoiled and prepared for a punch.

It was all too familiar for Elastigirl.

So when Mr. Incredible was near enough, she automatically moved towards his right.

The look of surprise on his face as she read his intentions of fainting with the right and striking with the left was priceless.

Elastigirl dodged the left hook before he could actually throw it and stretched her arms, snaking them around his right forearm.

As he moved past her, she used all of her own strength to pull, making him pivot in her direction.

He took an involuntary step towards her and Elastigirl stretched one of her legs, giving him a roundhouse kick to the left cheekbone, his head ricocheting off to the side.

When he lost sight of her, Elastigirl released him and moved towards him, using her Super ability to reach him every time she attacked him: Left hook, right uppercut, right hook to the spleen and, when he doubled over in pain, the breath having been punched out of his lungs, she roundhouse kicked him again, left shin to his face.

And so the titan fell, no match for his own wife. Not even when she was basically sleepwalking.

Elastigirl approached the fallen Mr. Incredible, who was slowly trying to get up from the floor. “You lost, doppelgänger. I’ll admit you did a pretty good job imitating his fighting style, though. Made my job easier.”

If she took notice of his frown of confusion, she didn’t say anything. Mr. Incredible kept looking at her like that and didn’t make no other comment about her words but, “A job good enough you didn’t realize it was a distraction.”

And so both Evelyn and Elastigirl opened their eyes wide, trying to make sense of his words as—

Brick was behind her, having appeared there a while ago thanks to Voyd’s ability andcaught her between her big hands, immobilizing her as another portal opened right in front of her, the blonde Rogue coming out of it with a curious looking device that reminded them both of that one weapon the Screenslaver had used again her.

She placed the tip of it to her neck, keeping it there as the electromagnetic currents ran through Elastigirl’s body, rendering her useless as it paralyzed her, as it made her lose her composure, her form.

Evelyn gritted her teeth but kept quiet as she heard Helen scream in pain, the amount of time the weapon had been pressed against her body being too much for her to handle in silence.

She glared at the screen, at Rogue’s look of pleasure at the sound of the painful, hopeless screaming, all rational thought gone as an animal instinct different to the one Helen could make her feel took over her mind, making her growl at the screen in fury.

“ _You put up a good show, Elastigirl,”_ Rogue said through her vicious smile. “ _But it only earned you a ticket to my side, the hard way.”_ She clicked her tongue to the roof of her mouth. “ _This is what happens if you misbehave.”_

And when Elastigirl couldn’t take it anymore, finally passing out, Rogue pulled away.

“ _Let’s go,”_ She said to her followers.

Evelyn watched as she turned around and walked into a portal, Mr. Incredible following her, along with Brick and the trapped, out cold Elastigirl.

As they all reunited on ground level again, Rogue smirked at them, “ _Great job today,”_ Evelyn watched her say. “ _Let’s take five, now.”_ She commanded and everyone smiled at her, seemingly pleased with themselves.

Evelyn didn’t look away from the screens as she approached her desk once more, opening the main menu.

Then, she looked at the monitor with the different options of procedures she could begin in her lab and moved towards her unfinished projects, _Winston’s Birthday Gift_ being already open, the suit behind her in the center of her lab.

She selected the option that allowed her to change the project’s name and typed in the new one.

Her lab talked to her, then.

“ _Confirm operation; change name for Project ‘Winston’s Birthday Gift’ to ‘Evelyn’s Strength’?”_

_“_ Confirm.”

“ _Task done.”_

And so Evelyn turned around and looked at her new project, almost finished, for she had worked _fast_ while Helen was gone, haphazardly redesigning Winston’s suit to fit her, giving it a few more quirks and tricks that suited her needs.

_It’s rather rudimentary and I’ll have to make some rash decisions, but it’ll do._

So she picked up her tools and approached it, ready to work on the finishing touches.

Ready to save Helen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Still alive! Apologies for the delay, I've moved from Argentina, Buenos Aires, to San Francisco in Cali, US! So you all may imagine how hectic these few days have been. Still, I managed to write this lil beauty for you all! Hope you enjoy and leave your thoughts below!


	16. Anyone can be Super strong

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With Elastigirl captured, a new heroine steps up to the plate as Evelyn prepares to save the day, Rogue's intentions finally in the clear.

She panted, the air escaping her lungs rapidly as she didn’t give herself time to rest, rushing through her work as she finished readying her suit.

“Done,” She barked out, taking a few steps backward to see her work, the camera feed all around her not giving her room to smirk as she saw how Helen was taken away, worry taking over her heart.

Evelyn still admired her work; despite not having focused entirely on it, she managed to do a pretty good job.

It looked like a jumpsuit, grey with round, flexible-looking, black and white lines going all over it, from its’ neck to its’ feet, as if showering it.

Still, the technology she had wished to use with the suit hadn’t been ready just yet, so she had to go for something a little less fancy, a little more brutal; she could wear the suit with no problem whatsoever but, in order for her to use its’ functions, the things that made it a _Super suit_ of sorts, she’d have to modify herself, too.

She gritted her teeth, for it was a thing she didn’t appreciate much: having technology inside of her instead of just around, but she’d do it.

She had to.

So Evelyn moved away from the suit, going back to her desk, where two big syringes awaited her, containing thousand and thousands of nano-bots each.

_Okay, these need to be distributed throughout all my body._

She rolled up her sleeves, picked up the first syringe and, while letting out a curse between clenched teeth, she prepared her left arm, clenching her hand in a fist.

Without thinking twice about it, she jabbed the piercing metal into her left arm, pushing its’ contents into her veins, wincing at how thick liquid-like contents felt, the pain being barely bearable.

Once she finished with that syringe, she discarded it to a side and bandaged the small wound, moving her arm around a bit, massaging the spot where she had given herself the shot.

Gathering her courage for the second one.

_Okay, okay. Now I’ve got to shoot the other one up some place different, so it distributes faster…_

She frowned, trying to think where she should do it.

_Do junkies inject themselves on the back of their knees? That’s a good spot, right?_

She took off her pants and inspected the back of her knees. She spotted a good vein.

_This will fucking hurt._

Again, without giving it much thought, she grabbed the other syringe and jabbed the needle into her body, hissing at the pain as she allowed her own technology to invade her insides.

As soon as she was finished, she did the same she had done with her arm. Once she was done, she moved around frantically, trying to make her heart rate higher so as to get the blood flowing, taking off her clothes until she was only in her underwear while she did so.

Without wasting any more time than necessary, she got into the suit, feeling it become alive as it touched her skin, locking itself into place as it pressed against her.

Evelyn smirked. She was no Edna Mode, but she did a pretty damn good job.

She picked up its’ mask, casually laid on the small table in front of the loveseat: unlike the typical Superhero masks, hers actually covered all of her face. It reminded her of the Screenslaver one, only it didn’t cover her whole head, her hair still being visible.

She approached it to her skin and it glued itself to her.

Many of her suit’s options appeared on the small screens right in front of her eyes and, with the simple snap of her fingers, she selected the options she was certain she’d use.

Feeling how the magnets both in and out of her body started to move, sensing each other and stimulating her body, she allowed the unsettling yet intriguing new energy she felt to move her out of the lab.

She let out a long exhale, preparing to test her new machine and, slowly, the crazy inventor began to run, picking up her speed with every passing second.

Step after step she prepared herself and then, as she found her valor, she jumped, the suit’s power cells already making her strong enough to jump very high into the air, hoping the mechanical thing had already linked itself with her mind and the different commands it sent to her body parts, for it should understand that when she did _this and that_ then it meant that she wanted to—

Propellers that were built into the soles of her suit turned on as she was about to land again, preventing her from doing so and taking her high into the air.

She laughed, feeling triumphant as her suit finally synchronized with her.

So, realizing she was ready to take control of the situation in a way completely new, different to the one she had been using moments ago, Evelyn mumbled a command for her goggles to show her Helen’s location, the chip she had stolen from Edna’s lab having been incorporated into her new mask, modified so as to be less precise, but far more subtle upon being activated.

She was on the eastern side of the city, in the industrial neighborhood.

The mad inventor immediately knew where she had to go.

Evelyn pivoted until she was flying in that direction, a small portion of her screens being occupied by Elastigirl’s camera feed, so that she could always keep a watchful eye on her, the Super’s suit’s own functions already wired into her own attire, so that she could still take care of it, being able to analyze her data and deduct whether she had woken up from her fainting or not.

Judging by the low levels, she was still out.

Evelyn willed herself to go faster.

And then, for a brief moment, the woman forgot about everything that had happened, every little thing going on around her, for the wind all around her, whipping her hair around, brought a feeling of freedom unlike anything she had ever experienced.

Even better than the one she felt in prison.

She went higher and higher, aware that the pressure around her dropped but not caring about it, for her suit already prevented it from affecting her by refreshing the oxygen the mask provided.

She twirled, did backflips and front-flips, amazed at the new sensations and feelings.

She then willed the propellers to stop working.

She fell down.

She saw the ground approaching her at breakneck speed.

And then, before she could hit it, she turned them on again, taking off with no harm whatsoever brought upon her person.

A small alarm went off, the sound reaching her ears as Helen’s suit’s information came up right in front of her eyes. Evelyn analyzed the data and realized the Super was awake again. “Helen,” she said, “If you’re there, give me a sign.”

She heard Helen groan, just as the car the Super was on suddenly stopped, the motor quieting down.

“ _Take her under,”_ She heard Rogue command.

The beating of her heart accidentally ordered her suit to go faster, the words reminding Evelyn of something.

“Helen, I’m putting you under again.” She mumbled, “Can’t have you fully awake around her.”

And she actually waited for the Heroine to answer before doing anything, but no response ever came—

She saw something uncanny in Helen’s suit’s monitor.

There was a recurrent pressure being applied to her leg, as if someone were tapping a finger to it—

Evelyn’s mind immediately searched for a possible interpretation, realizing she might have just read something on that light tapping.

_Line, dot, dot, line, line, line, pause, dot, dot, line._

_Do it._

“On it.” Evelyn answered, activating the device again, hearing how Helen contained the shuddering breath inside her mouth, trying her best not to give her away. “From now on, you’ll communicate with me through morse code, okay?” She asked the Super.

_Line, line, line, line, dot, line._

_Ok._

“Excellent,” Evelyn responded, watching how the homing device slowly lost signal.

_She’s being taken underground. That’s what Rogue had meant by taking her under._

“I’m getting close, H.” She whispered, “Keep calm.” And then Evelyn focused on how Helen’s breathing was slow, relaxed, even.

She trusted Evelyn to come for her.

But before the inventor could think about it—

_Dot, line, line, line, dot, line, line, dot, line, dot, line, dot, line, dot, dot, line, line, dot, dot._

_Attack?_

Evelyn considered the Superwoman’s offer of a new course of action, only one question inside her head: what would be the outcome of it?

_She’s weak right now, so her attacks won’t be effective enough._

_She’s surrounded, so she’ll be neutralized quick enough._

_It’ll bring attention to her and might make the rest of the rescue fail, if they were to take off her mask or earpiece._

“No, don’t.” Evelyn commanded. “Stay put, pretend you’re out cold.”

_Line, line, line, line, dot, line._

_Ok._

Evelyn gritted her teeth as she saw Helen’s camera feed; the woman was being _dragged_ by her own husband, his massive figure preventing her from seeing anything else in the screen.

As she made her way towards her Super, Evelyn focused on what she could hear through Elastigirl’s comm. Rope being knotted, a generator’s humming…

Helen’s groans of pain.

“This won’t hurt you much if you cooperate, _honey.”_ Mr. Incredible growled as he tied her up to a chair, taunting the groaning woman, his words clearly showing he still knew her to be his wife.

_Rogue’s influence must be strong, then._

Evelyn watched as Robert then left, allowing for the camera to show her around. Pipe tubes surrounded the Super, snaking their way all around the room, the rust on them indicating how aged the building was, their old, earthy colors harmonizing perfectly with the industrial motif.

Then, from Helen’s right, Rogue appeared, a big coat over her shoulders.

Evelyn pursed her lips. She flew faster, as if that were actually possible, her whole suit’s energy unit being spent on the propellers underneath her feet.

“Hello, _Elastigirl_.” She heard Rogue say, drawling out the Superheroine’s name. “Glad that you finally made it here.”

Evelyn thought for a second, her eyes moving towards Helen’s suit’s status. The temperature had dropped dramatically.

_So that’s the engine I’ve heard; a freezing chamber._

_Copycat._

Evelyn knew what they had to do. “Repeat after me.”

* * *

 

“What the— _Hell_ do you want?” Elastigirl asked in between clenched teeth, pausing for a moment before saying _Hell_ , implying she may have had another word at the ready on her tongue.

Rogue noticed, a smirk growing on her lips as she said, “My, my, where are your manners, Elastigirl?”

“I almost say fuck, so my manners are on check.”

Rogue’s baffled look was priceless as she suddenly burst out laughing. “That was unexpected!” She clapped her hands together. “You’re delightful.” And the funny look was gone as an vile expression took over her features as she added, “Having you by my side will be delightful.”

Helen’s own smirk looked like a dare, but was actually someone else’s contagious smile, the distance being nothing as the Super felt the Inventor’s smirk on her ear, her breath on her neck as she repeated her words, “And what makes you think I’ll side with you?” Asking Rogue the question Evelyn had wanted to have the chance of voicing, their only chance at finally getting to solve at least part of the mystery the woman represented to them.

Rogue chuckled, shaking her head. “Oh, sweetheart,” She smiled at Helen. “What makes you think you’ve got a choice?”

“What makes you think I don’t?”

And then Rogue’s smile turned into a big, dark grin.

“Oh, Elastigirl. You know my name, but it’s evident you don’t know the stories that hide behind it. Tell me, have you figured out how my abilities work, or we don’t know each other that much just yet?”

She saw how Elastigirl bit her lip, but was unaware of the cooing voice on her ear, whispering sweet nothings that prevented Rogue’s words from triggering her yet again.

Elastigirl quickly regained her composure, letting out a mocking, “You sweet-talk everyone into doing your bidding, batting your eyelashes a bit, maybe offering some sex as payment.” She shrugged, “Too bad a little smile and some stupid words won’t make me change my mind, right?”

Rogue approached her, that arrogant smile still on her face as she said, “And what about _some sex_?” She leaned in until she was a breath away from Elastigirl, “Doesn’t that entice you, like it did with your _husband_?”

Elastigirl opened up her mouth, ready to say something, but apparently decided against it, as she closed her eyes, sighed, and shut her mouth. She opened it again, “No.”

Rogue laughed, finding the quirky Super rather intriguing. “You’d be a fool to think you stand a chance against me.”

And it was only Evelyn, still far away from them, who noticed the nervous look behind Rogue’s eyes.

Seemed she was having a certain, internal conflict the wasn’t willing to share just yet.

Elastigirl scoffed, rolling her eyes, evidently annoyed at the blonde. “What do you even want, woman? To annoy everyone in the city?” She huffed out a laugh then, “Because, trust me,” She said, then nodded, letting out a sneer, “You’ve managed to _really get on my nerves.”_

It unnerved the puppeteer how the blonde’s smile was constantly on her face, making her feel that perhaps that’s how her puppet usually felt about her own smirking.

“You’re actually the one I’ve been trying to catch, _Elastigirl._ You see,” She began, then slowly started to pace around the Super. “You’ve done something that really pissed me off.”

* * *

 

“Keep her talking,” Evelyn commanded Helen as she finally reached her destination, the two big, bulky Supers stationed at the entrance being enough evidence of it. “I’m already here. Must find a way in.”

“ _Which is?”_ She heard Helen ask Rogue, her tone suddenly a bit shakier than it was when Evelyn instructed her.

Evelyn’s goggles scanned the building as she flew around it, finding a small ventilation shaft near the entrance, one where she’d fit. She flew towards it and placed her hands on the metal, gripping it with her fingers and easily tearing it off the wall.

She smirked at the object between her hands. _Anyone can be Super-strong._

She placed it on the ceiling before slowly landing in the ventilation tunnels and slowly crawling her way in.

“Helen, do you remember the turns you made when you entered the building?”

* * *

 

“You made Supers legal again.”

The air suddenly felt heavy. For everyone who had just heard that, both right in front of Rogue and away, having heard it through hidden microphones.

Elastigirl’s finger drummed on her leg inconspicuously, the pattern that for the smart super meant _yes_ flying under Rogue’s radar. “And why is that such a big deal?”

And then Rogue’s hands were forcefully gripping both sides of her face as the red faced woman screamed, “ _You damned this city!”_ Pushing the Super away in anger, the chair moving a few inches backwards as Elastigirl tried to catch her breath, for it had hitched at the unexpected outburst.

Rogue walked away, but then came back, pacing around her again, only faster. “You failed this city and ruined everyone’s lives.”

Elastigirl didn’t understand. “What do you mean—“

“ _Don’t you see what’s going on?!”_ Rogue roared at her. “The Screenslaver was _right!”_ And she ran towards Helen, then, landing on her knees right in between the woman’s thighs as she dug her fingers into her knees and said, “You Supers make the people _weak!”_

“And what makes you so different to me that you don’t label yourself as a Super?” Elastigirl asked, her finger still drumming on her leg.

Rogue laughed, the sound devoid of any kind of actual joy. “I don’t run around with a stupid costume and a pretend name.”

“Then what about _Hijacker?”_

And something alike recognition shone in those white eyes. “Oh, so you _did_ hear about the stories that accompany my name, then.” She said, laughing as her fingers dug painfully into Helen’s knees, the woman possessing an unexpected strength, “That’s the name cowards use to refer to me.” Her head lolled to a side, her vicious grin on her face, narrowed eyes intensely locked on brown ones as she stated, “You know how my power works, then.”

“And I also know you can’t use them on me.” She gambled.

And won. “That’s something that you know and that I’ve yet to figure out how it even is possible.” Rogue admitted, nodding her head. “There’s something about your mind that I can’t quite… _map out_ , like I need to.” She offered, smirking a bit. “Whenever I think I’ve got the key to the lock that’s your consciousness, the game changes once more and I’m back in zero.” She exhaled loudly, her lip trapped between her teeth as she muttered, “It’s infuriating.”

Helen seemed to be lost in her own thoughts, “It’s the maze.” She mumbled, Rogue nodding along as if she already knew she was about to say just that.

“It’s something like that.” But then a frown etched itself on her features as a name popped up in her brain, direct consequence of how she was trying to get into Helen’s mind, reading it thoroughly, trying to crack a code that constantly changed, “Who’s Evelyn?”

Someone out there was swallowing her own saliva.

And almost choked as she heard Elastigirl blurt out a simple, “My lover.” The answer making Rogue’s eyes grow in size.

Helen turned her head to a side, “She’s always been a maze to me,” She explained, covering her own tracks, offering Evelyn Deavor as a simple affair, as the link to her previous words, the reason why she popped up inside her brain.

Keeping the actual inventor, currently navigating the ventilation system, hidden from Rogue’s omnipresent eyes.

Rogue’s mouth formed a perfect _Oh_ , her eyes wide at the sudden confession. Then, she started shaking her head, slowly clapping as she laughed. “Damn, Elastigirl! You sly vixen!” Her clapping became rapid for a moment, then she halted with a hollering laughter. “You actually cheated on Robert!”

Elastigirl’s expression was unreadable, her eyes unfocused, aiming at the floor.

Rogue saw her.

“And you don’t seem very happy about that fact,” She commented.

Then, Elastigirl’s eyes moved towards those white ones. “You don’t know any of that.”

Rogue found herself being surprised at how, reading her mind, she realized that, indeed, she didn’t know. “You’re right.”

It all got terrifying for both the Deavor sister and the Parr mother.

So Elastigirl exploded in a bit of frustration, shaking her head, “What do you want, anyway? Why don’t you just leave us all alone?”

“Haven’t you made the connections, yet?” Rogue asked her, leaning in until they were face to face, “Didn’t you listen to what I just said? Supers make the people weak.”

She pulled away, walking around idly for a second, before she stopped, her back to Elastigirl as she said, “You don’t know what it’s like to be like me.” She turned around and looked at the trapped Super, “You don’t know how tortuous it is to listen to everyone’s thoughts all the time, without having the chance of making it _stop.”_ She let out, her hands forcefully gripping her own hair as she clenched her teeth, her words being emphasized by her demeanor. “I didn’t want to be like this and yet here I am, trapped under a curse I cannot break.”

“Everyone’s _always_ thinking about you, about your costumes, your catchy one-liners, how you’re _always there_ to save the day and, if they’re not thinking about it, it’s because they’re _talking about it!”_ The volume of her voice had gone up, gradually. “You’re _everywhere_ and it’s impossible to get away from people like _you!”_

Rogue let out a roar, kicking the air as she let some of her frustration out. “And that’s not even the worst part.” She said, chuckling mirthlessly. “The worst part is that the only other thing they all think about is TV shows, if _Jenny_ did or did not kiss _Matty_ and stupid nonsense like that!”

She turned around and stomped her way towards Elastigirl, halting her walk with her hands, bracing herself on the armrests. “People have lost any kind of interest for philosophy, for art, for actually thinking, doing things that matter, for life in itself and it’s _all your fault!”_ She screamed at the woman right in front of her. “It’s all your fault because you idiotize them with your stupid _heroic acts_ instead of actually teaching them how to be heroes for themselves! Give them the fishing rod, not the fish!” She said, letting her head hang from her shoulders in what looked like defeat.

But Elastigirl knew it wasn’t, for she slowly raised her head, a vicious smile on her lips as her voice dropped an octave when she said, “So, since you’re all unwilling to teach this society a lesson, I decided to take matters into my own hands with this curse of an ability that I have.” Her smile grew a bit when she confessed, “I’ll turn all of you Superheroes into Supervillains until people finally understand there’s no one who’ll come to save them, no fury-less wind to wipe the darkness from the city, no rain to come and clean the streets. They’d better learn to protect themselves, because _you_ will be out for their flesh.”

And Elastigirl swore she could actually _feel_ Rogue’s lips against hers as the evil woman whispered, “Let them fear for their lives, because if not, I’ll make you take them.” And she looked manic, psychopathic as she asked her, “Do you understand?” Her voice trembling with restraint, for she was still trying her best to break into Elastigirl’s mind.

And the hypnotized woman merely answered, “I understand that your freaky villainous monologue is about to be interrupted.”

And before Rogue could read what that meant inside the slumbering Super’s brain, Evelyn charged for the blonde, picking her up and taking her high in the air, before throwing her against a wall, the sound sickening as Rogue hit the concrete and let out a holler of pain.

Without a word being uttered by the blonde, Voyd appeared through a portal, followed by Brick and Krushauer.

Evelyn looked at them from her spot in the air, cracking her neck to a side. Before daring to do anything, she warmed up Helen’s suit from her control pannel, “Elastigirl, time to work!” She said, subtly commanding the auburn haired woman to _move._

But Elastigirl was too busy watching her, too lost in her own thoughts, in her own memories.

The floating figure reminding her of someone else, someone with long, black hair who had always worn a cape.

“Where’s your…” She mumbled, her fingers stretching to touch the tattoo on her wrist.

Evelyn realized what was going on just as Voyd opened a portal right above her head, Brick going through it and appearing over the flying woman.

Insanely quick, Evelyn darted away from the falling wall of a woman, looking at Elastigirl with desperation, “ _I’m not her! Move, damn it!”_

And Elastigirl then obeyed, releasing herself from her restraints, but she still allowed her eyes to wander towards the floating figure, “But—“

The air was forced out of her lungs as Krushauer manipulated the pipes all around them, making them snake themselves around the elastic woman, the inflexible tubes strangling her until—

Evelyn made her way towards the corrupted Super and broke his concentration by punching him on the jaw, her enhanced strength making him ricochet off her fist.

Before he could gather his surroundings, Evelyn front kicked him, her foot connecting to his gut and the forceful impact sending him off to the rest of the pipes around them, the man automatically passing out as his head connected with the tubes.

Evelyn turned and looked at Voyd, her mask covering the intimidating smile she gave the Super, who looked at her with a quivering bottom lip.

Evelyn’s suit’s alarms warned her about an upcoming threat behind her and, before Brick could actually touch her, the inventor rolled to her side, the big woman failing to stop, her body connecting with Voyd’s and crushing her against the wall, knocking her unconscious, the Super Suit designed by Edna preventing real damage from taking place.

Evelyn ran towards Elastigirl, using her strength to break the pipes apart and release her from the stranglehold. “No time for talking,” She warned, “You take Rogue.” Came the command from the brunette, Elastigirl immediately nodding before darting towards the blonde, who was watching them with fury in her eyes.

The Superwoman quickly stretched her fist, punching Rogue on the jaw, before stretching her other arm and punching her where her liver should be, making her double over due to the pain.

Evelyn approached Brick, planning how to take her down.

The big woman tried to punch her, but her lack of speed allowed Evelyn to dodge her easily.

Blow after blow, both Evelyn and Helen moved, the inventor dodging, the Super attacking.

But then three people dressed in red Super Suits finally appeared.

And Elastigirl’s eyes glued to them.

The Incredible family made its’ entrance, all ready to attack the mad inventor who was giving Brick a Hell of a time.

In her distraction, Helen didn’t see Rogue charging until it was too late, for the blonde took her down to the ground with her.

Keeping her in place with her hands, the evil woman’s eyes locked on Evelyn’s frame far from them.

The inventor’s head started to pound. “ _Don’t let her focus on me!_ ” She roared at Elastigirl through her comm, making her snap out of it as she punched Rogue and broke her concentration.

Evelyn flew high, gathering her surroundings for a second, Brick collapsing on the ground due to exhaustion. “If she controls me, we’re _screwed_ , H. Don’t let her do it.” She pleaded, gulping as she saw her Super’s family, glaring at her.

“Dash, go take care of Mom.” Mr. Incredible commanded his son, the blond boy running away towards Rogue and Helen, leaving Violet and Robert behind.

“Vi,” Robert said, then, and it was all the black haired girl needed to hear.

She conjured two small, round forcefields on her hands and wound up her arms before launching them towards the flying woman.

Evelyn barely managed to avoid them, watching as they went through the wall behind her.

“Okay,” she mumbled, thinking out loud, “Let’s keep dodging those.”

And as Violet kept throwing her projectiles at her, Evelyn struggled but managed to dodge, gritting her teeth as they barely missed her, the woman too concentrated on the new threat to even look at Helen, who was currently struggling between both Rogue and her speeding son.

Evelyn felt relieved when she saw Violet tap out, her exhaustion taking over, but gritted her teeth when she saw He-Lectrix appear.

_He’s the only one who can actually fuck me up._

She saw him charge his hands with electric currents, while Mr. Incredible started to move towards his wife, as if they all knew what the other would do.

“Okay, enough for today.” Evelyn mumbled as she charged for Robert, taking him with her against a wall, Elastigirl having enough on her plate, already.

The titan of a man tried to punch her but Evelyn knew her strength would equal his, so she caught his fist with her hand.

Furious, he attempted to attack her with the other one.

She caught it, too.

Her eyes darted towards He-Lectrix. The static was making his hair stand on end.

Running out of time.

Grabbing him forcefully, she threw the big, bouldering man towards Rogue.

The blond man took the villainous woman with him as they rolled their way away from Helen.

Evelyn felt her own hair stand on end.

Knowing Dash was focused on his mother and everyone but He-Lectrix was out, she flew her way towards Voyd, who was coming to her senses.

As she reached her, she took her own goggles off and placed them on Voyd’s face, pressing a button that was hidden on their frame and turning them on.

And thus Voyd became hypnotized by Evelyn.

“Open a portal to where I last controlled you,” she commanded, and Voyd obeyed, the portal to that dead end opening near Elastigirl.

He-lectrix was ready to strike.

She looked at Helen, “ _Stratogale_!” She roared.

And Helen snapped out of her trance, the safe-word breaking Evelyn’s control over her.

He-Lectrix attacked.

Electricity overcharged Evelyn’s suit, electrocuting the woman trapped inside of it, the nano technology inside her body being fried to bits as she twitched and did her best not to bite her own tongue, in fear of chopping it out.

Helen gathered her surroundings quickly, her eyes moving from Robert to Rogue, who was staring at Evelyn, to Dash, then Violet, then—

She quickly ran towards Evelyn, knowing full well what she had to do.

Knowing that her suit was immune to electricity, she stretched her arm and grabbed He-Lectrix by the arm, throwing him away, breaking his attack, though the damage had already been done.

Without giving it a second thought, mostly in fear of what she may do if she allowed herself to think it through, she quickly picked up the convulsing Evelyn and jumped to the other side of the portal.

Before they could be followed, she stretched her arm through it again and punched Voyd, knocking her out once more and making the portal close, her arm quickly coming back to her, Evelyn’s goggles on her hand.

But they still weren’t safe.

Managing to control herself for a moment, Evelyn pressed a hidden button on the side of her neck and, in a matter of seconds, the Incredibile appeared.

Helen placed the burnt inventor on the passenger’s seat and sped away from their dead end, reaching DevTech in no time, her worry rendering her quiet.

As they arrived and she sent the car off, Elastigirl made it through the secret passageway to Evelyn’s true lab and quickly took off her mask and the unconscious inventor’s.

“Evelyn,” She said, gently shaking her awake. “ _Evelyn_ ,” She tried once more, her worry hardly concealed.

Blue eyes looked at her after taking their time opening themselves. “Hey,” she croaked out, a slow smile on her lips as she said, “I told you; _anyone_ can be super strong.”

Helen laughed, the hysteria of the events catching up with her, before she brought the Inventor up and hugged her _tight_.

She pulled away, hoping to look into those eyes but Evelyn had closed them again, the haziness in her head making it impossible to stay awake as she passed out once more.

Helen breathed out, still worried about the woman but glad she was alive, because that’s what mattered, anyway.

They were alive.

So, carefully, Helen started to help the unconscious Evelyn out of her suit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Evie, sweetie... I'm so sorry for the third degree burns.  
> (No, I'm not)


	17. A blessing and a curse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With Evelyn unavailable, Helen's left to her own devices and ends up losing herself in her own thoughts, one single question lingering on her mind; What where the motives behind Evelyn's latest endeavor?

The technologic suit had been both a blessing and a curse, Helen decided.

It definitely saved Evelyn from being electrocuted to death, something about it channeling the electricity into it instead of letting it flow directly into her, but she was still badly hurt; her skin had thin, angry red lines running all over it, branching out all throughout all of her body, from her neck down to her feet, as if she had been struck by lightning, her muscles still contracted due to the electric currents that had attacked it.

Helen had helped her off the suit, leaving it to a side, preventing herself from touching it much for it still gave out kicks to whoever came in contact with it.

She had picked Evelyn up, pointedly ignoring how she _also_ gave her an electric kick, and guided her towards a bathtub she had filled with ice-cold water.

Giving the woman her own suit to grab as a non-conduct, she carefully helped her in, so as to heal the millions of small scars covering her, the entry scar being at her neck, the exit one, the soles of her feet.

Evelyn hissed as her body touched the water, her eyes opening suddenly, no trace of their usual laziness behind, a strained, painful groan coming out of her throat as she dug her fingers into Helen’s shoulders, the Super allowing the Inventor’s hands to grip her forcefully.

Eventually, though, Evelyn started to relax into the cold water, her eyes becoming hazy again, before finally closing, her mouth slightly open, her hands relaxing on Helen’s shoulders until she was limp.

Out, again.

Helen unzipped her suit and pulled it halfway down, releasing her arms and hands from the spandex.

Free from the Elastigirl costume, Helen Parr gently ran her hands over Evelyn’s body, carefully tracing the scars that would later on appear where the red marks laid.

“My God, Evelyn,” Helen whispered, worry coating her features. “What have you done?”

She washed Evelyn’s skin and hair thoroughly before getting her out of the tub and drying her up with a towel.

Picking up some underwear from Evelyn’s dresser, along with some black pajama pants and her oversized sweater, she dressed her up and brought her to the inner chamber of the lab.

“Okay,” She began as she approached the main desk and started to inspect the Inventor’s computer. “If I know you at least a bit, which I do, then you should have some kind of medical evaluation set around here...” She mused, running through the different commands and options before finally finding what she was looking for, a triumphant sound escaping her mouth as she made her selection and watched the center of the chamber move, bringing several machines for her to use with the unconscious woman.

But as she moved closer to the medical instruments available, the screen arouns her turned red, the lab’s AI quickly interrupting her concentration, “ _Warning, unidentified user.”_

_“_ This is Helen Parr,” She said out loud, somewhat hesitantly.

The screen turned off, “ _Helen Parr; authorized user. Welcome.”_

She quickly connected Evelyn to what appeared to be a heart monitor, watching as the machine turned on by itself, showing Evelyn’s heart rate to be rather good, considering her current context. Helen sighed in relief.

But then the sophisticated instrument’s screen turned red, a color typically related to danger, as the lab’s AI started talking, “ _Warning; patient identified as Evelyn Deavor presenting internal bleeding.”_

_“_ Shit,” The curse word fell from her lips as she quickly grabbed the IV and Evelyn’s left arm.

As she rolled up her sleeve, she noticed a small spot in the same exact location where she’d have to place her own needle and Helen found herself frowning at it, her eyes roaming towards Evelyn’s closed ones as just one question popped inside her brain.

_What the Hell did you do?_

Shaking her head a bit so as to free herself from the sudden thought, she quickly found the vein and connected the IV to it, serum slowly going into the woman’s body.

Now Helen had to sit and wait, hoping for Evelyn to recover.

So she did.

Minutes slowly ticked by, each feeling like an eternal hour for the Super. In her worry, she couldn’t stay put; she got out of her suit, showered, got dressed, cleaned the lab thoroughly... twice.

And waited.

And thought.

And she was actually terrified of being left alone with her thoughts.

Her eyes glued themselves to the passed out woman right in front of her.

Evelyn had come to her rescue, again. This time, donning a Super Suit of her own creation, Evelyn had put herself in danger’s way, actually allowing for what threatened her life to harm her, if only to save her.

The maze and its’ solutions and better alternatives be damned; Evelyn had a choice to make and she chose what harmed her own self and benefited the Super, instead of what could have saved her from a possible electrifying death.

She had thrown Rogue out of the way and broken her control over Elastigirl —the safe-word not going unnoticed by the auburn haired woman, —and allowed He-Lectrix to almost kill her, instead of aiming the bouldering man she called a husband to the electric Super, saving her own skin instead.

These were the things she had a hard time understanding; altruistic acts coming from a cynical mind.

Because, somehow, she could make sense of them when they involved someone else, like Winston or Summer, but she couldn’t comprehend why Evelyn did what she did when it came to her.

Did she think she owed her something, due to the Screenslaver fiasco?

Helen’s frown deepened as she shook her head. No, of course not; Evelyn may be sorry for the pain she put Helen through, but she definitely didn’t regret her actions, thinking it was all necessary to prove a point, even if she had failed.

Maybe she found Helen to be someone important to her? Maybe she held her highly, considered her a friend or even a lov—

_No._

Evelyn Deavor and the concept of love didn’t seem to go hand in hand.

But even then, she did log her as a new user in her computers, she did get her a new suit, she did save her more than once, she did ask for her opinion and authorization to follow her plans through, even if her emergency plans weren’t consulted with her.

But then again, they were _emergency plans,_ to follow only when there was no other choice.

And the last one involved making a Heroine out of the _Evil Inventor._

Helen approached the woman who laid on the loveseat, machinery connected to her, the faint beeping of the heart monitor reminding her she was still alive.

She carefully sat down on the ground next to her, her arms laid on the cushion, her chin resting on her forearms as she stared at that relaxed, peaceful expression, different to the usual coolness of the would-have-been scientist.

A sigh escaped through her nostrils as she watched Evelyn’s chest, slowly rising and falling.

“I must admit, I know exactly what Rogue felt like, you know?” Her eyes moved towards Evelyn’s. “Whenever I think I’ve got you all figured out, you go out there and prove that you’re still a mystery to me.” She confessed, wondering what kind of crazy things the woman must have gone through in order to appear in the scene, ready to save the day in such a short notice. A small smile placed itself on her lips. “I’ve finally made my peace with it, though.” She said, knowing it to be actually true. “I don’t need to figure you out, as long as you let me see the lighthouse while I’m lost in the sea that’s your being.”

“After all,” She said, a mischievous smirk taking over her lips as her eyes darted quickly towards the Inventor’s mouth. “I believe I know you, already. Just like you know me.”

And she gently leaned in, pressing her lips softly against those barely parted.

* * *

 

“Helen?”

The husky voice woke her up in an instant, the Superwoman flinching as she came to her senses, pointedly ignoring the drool on her forearm, quickly blinking the sleep away from her eyes as she tried to focus on the blue, lazy eyes that watched her curiously. “Evelyn, you’re awake.”

The inventor chuckled, “That much I figured.” She commented on the obvious fact dropped by Helen. “And you were asleep.”

Helen frowned at her, before gently —very gently, —slapping her arm, making the brunette laugh. “I just closed my eyes for a moment. It was a long blink.”

Evelyn’s laughter grew. “Sure!”

But then their mirth died out as Helen remembered the events that had happened before that lead them to such a situation, making her ask, “Are you willing to explain what the Hell was all of that?” Breaking the comfortable silence before it actually formed.

Evelyn gave herself a minute to look at herself, at her clothes, her IV’d arm…

The scars that now decorated it.

“What are you even talking about, H?” She asked, her face mimicking the confused air of her voice as she moved her eyes back to the Super.

Helen merely stared. Evelyn sighed.

“Guess I can’t play dumb now, huh?” She asked Helen, watching her as she shook her head. “Fine.” She said, before looking around and letting out a, “AI, show me the latest project on the screen.”

The laboratory responded to the sound of her voice, “ _Evelyn’s Strength on display,”_ It warned, as the screen all around them showed that Super Suit Evelyn had been wearing, every detail about it being explained on the luminous diagram.

Helen raised a brow. “Evelyn’s Strength?” She repeated, her pupils moving from the mapped out suit to its’ owner’s blue eyes, watching Evelyn nod.

“You heard that right.”

“So you’ve had this Super Suit card up your sleeve and I knew nothing about it?”

Evelyn’s eyes moved towards the ceiling as she thought about those words for a minute. “Not exactly,” She confessed, “It was a last minute decision, if I’m honest.”

It didn’t add up. “How is it possible that you created a suit so quickly?”

Instead of explaining, Evelyn simply said, “AI, show me the latest modifications to this project’s planning.”

And so the suit displayed on screen transformed into another one, seemingly suited for slim, tall man, the name on screen disappearing as another one took its’ place, “ _Showing original concept of Evelyn’s Strength, previously named Winston’s Birthday Gift.”_

“There’s only one thing Winston’s ever dreamed of bigger than meeting a Superhero; _being_ a Superhero.” Evelyn explained before Helen had the chance to ask. “So, when I realized I could actually give him that with my brains and tools, I decided to give it a try. It would have been his birthday gift.”

As she talked, the laboratory seemed to know what she was talking about, making sense of her words and expanding the diagram in different portions of the suit, allowing both women to read the detailed explanations of the suit’s different functions.

“I would make him as strong as Mr. Incredible, give him the ability to fly as Thunderhead,” A sly smile grew on her lips as she added, “Make him as deadly as Gamma Jack.” And she had to contain the chuckle that almost escaped her as she heard Helen mutter a small _Oh God, no._ “In the end, I never managed to finish it, leaving it halfway done, the hardest parts almost done.”

“Why didn’t you finish it?” Helen asked her, curious brown eyes locking on lazy blue ones.

“You showed up.”

“Oh.”

“Oh, indeed.” Evelyn said, her eyes leaving Helen’s. “So the project was never done, until just now, only because it became necessary due to Rogue capturing you.” She sighed before saying, “AI, show me the finished project, now.” And the screens were altered again, the suit going back to the prototype it had showed before Winston’s version of it appeared.

“This was still the prototype version of it, everything in the suit being rather rudimentary, so the suit’s functions didn’t answer to my voice commands, let alone my will to do anything, but to several, different electromagnetic pulses rigged to be identified by it; in order for me to access the attire’s various abilities—“

“A series of electro pulses had to activate them from a source outside the suit,” Helen interrupted, a frown of concentration on her eyes as she looked back at Evelyn, who smirked at her fast working mind. “But how…?” She trailed off, knowing full well the Inventor knew what she was asking her.

“AI,” Evelyn said, her eyes not leaving Helen’s, “Show me the latest camera feed from this same location.”

And then the screens’ contents shifted again, showing Helen a nervous Evelyn, who stripped to her underwear and—

“Holy goodness is that a _needle?”_ Helen asked incredulously, muttering a small _Oh, God,_ when she heard Evelyn respond with a casual _Two, actually. “_ Evelyn, what—“

“You said so yourself; in order for the suit to work properly, electro pulses needed to reach it from an outer source. In order for the suit to understand that I’m its’ user, the electro pulses needed to come from within me.” She commented, watching as Helen stared at the screens in horror, a nervous Evelyn jabbing the syringes deep into her veins being on display.

“You injected yourself?”

“With nano-bots which, I’ll say, worked perfectly, until He-Lectrix decided to overcook them.” When Helen’s head whipped in her direction, a concerned look on her face, Evelyn caught her before she actually said anything, “My body will eliminate them in a day or two; I had built them to be a temporary, short-term fix, so they would have been out of me in no time anyways.”

And Helen said what had been roaming her mind ever since getting back to the lab with an unconscious Evelyn. “And you did all of this for what, exactly?” She asked, knowing the answer, but desiring to hear it coming from Evelyn’s lips.

The inventor groaned, bringing her hand up to smack herself in the face. “Oh, come on, Helen. You know the answer.”

“I do, but I want to hear you say it.”

“Don’t make me, _please.”_ Evelyn said, making Helen smirk.

“I thought you had said you weren’t the begging type,” She casually let out, watching as Evelyn’s eyes grew wide. “What ever happened to that?”

Evelyn chuckled, realizing the woman now seemed to find it easy, to catch her off guard. It didn’t go unnoticed by her, how unbothered she was about it.

She decided she had to return the favor, though.

“I did all of this because of you.”

Helen’s know-it-all look vanished from her face.

And Evelyn continued, a small, knowing smirk on her face.

“I injected myself with bots and got into a half-assed Super Suit, traveled all the way down to the industrial district, fought several Supers and did my best to avoid hurting those with a red suit, except for Mr. Incredible, and only because it was actually necessary, then allowed myself to be electrocuted and knocked out cold, all just to get you out of there, as safe and sound as possible, solving the puzzle inside my head in a matter of seconds and realizing _you_ being safe was far more important than anything else.” She said, her eyes never leaving Helen’s.

The fact that she had said all of that so casually, guiding the Super through each of the steps of her crazy, emergency plan with such a calm look in those blue eyes, the seemingly endless sea hiding behind them…

“Bullshit.”

Evelyn choked on her own voice, completely taken by surprise at her reaction. “What—“

“Evelyn, you said so yourself,” Helen said, repeating what the woman had said before, “I’m a mother of _three;_ If you think I’m buying all that _solved the puzzle and this was the logical solution_ crap, then you’re dumber than you thought.”

Evelyn shrugged, “Everyone’s got a percentage of idiocy in their genes.”

Helen grabbed Evelyn by the throat, the gesture reminding the mad inventor of that one time when she had almost choked her to death, only this time it was a gentle hold, a polar opposite to what had happened between them.

“ _Evelyn,”_ Helen said, a certain urgency to her tone.

Her eyes glued to blue ones as Evelyn responded, “ _Helen,”_ Just as desperately.

She was begging her not to make her say it, not to make her confess her real motives.

But Helen was having none of it, lacking the uncanny mercy Evelyn seemed to always have at her disposal for situations like this one.

So she kept up the eye contact, kept her hand around the inventor’s neck.

Minutes passed until Evelyn finally admitted defeat, breaking their stare down and sighing as she closed her eyes.

“What, _exactly,_ do you want to know?”

“Why did you prioritize my wellbeing instead of yours?”

“You already know.”

“That’s the thing, Ev.” Helen said, approaching the woman until her forehead touched the inventor’s. “I need you to confirm it.”

Evelyn opened her eyes and didn’t say anything, the plea gone from her eyes as a warning took its’ place.

Helen was pushing far too much, asking for far too much, demanding for answers that weren’t hers to take, that weren’t Evelyn’s to give away, not so easily.

She’d have to work for the inventor to speak her mind.

Helen closed her eyes, needing a moment away from the lazy ones that looked back.

_Come on, Elastigirl. Just like any other uncooperative citizen._

_A citizen with the brains to hypnotize you, no mind control actually necessary._

She sighed. _Simple hero work, right?_

She opened her eyes, her pupils locking with the growing ones in front of her, the concept of _simple hero work_ being shot down inside her head.

Evelyn wasn’t some common citizen who was unwilling to cooperate, nor some kind of duty Helen had to fulfill.

The Super was there on her own, no obligation making her stay by the inventor’s side, nothing but desire making her look for her help instead of anyone else’s. That much she could admit, now.

And her train of thought made her realize that now Evelyn _did_ have a choice, unlike how it had been in the past.

“What will you do about Rogue, now?” She asked, changing their current direction.

Evelyn noticed, something alike gratitude shining in her eyes, the gesture not going unnoticed by her as she asked, “Well, catch her, maybe? It’s a rather dumb question, Helen.”

The auburn haired woman groaned, “ _Evelyn,”_ She said in a warning tone, annoyed at the woman in question as she got up and paced around, her hands covering her eyes as she rubbed them a bit. “I’ve got no time for your games.”

“You’re lying; the thing you’ve got the most now is time. What you’re lacking is patience.”

Helen turned just to glare at her for that. Evelyn simply stared back with an amused look.

“I mean it, Helen,” She said, “I don’t quite understand your question.”

“You heard her.”

“Through your mic, yes.”

Helen braced herself on the desk, her hands propping her up as she rested her backside against it, her head lolling to a side, “And what do you think about it?”

Evelyn accommodated herself, letting her feet hit the ground as she rested her forearms on her thighs, a frown etched upon her features. “Well, I think I owe you an apology,” She said, smirking at the woman, “My influence appears to be strong.”

“She basically worships you.”

Evelyn laughed. “If only she knew who it was, interrupting her little monologue.”

Helen’s brows furrowed, though a smirk was locked in place on her lips, “What’s up with villains and monologuing, anyway?”

“We like to give heroes a chance at defeating us.”

“Oh, so you _do_ admit you’re a villain, then? That’s good to know.”

Evelyn laughed. “Of the worst kind.” She locked her gaze on Helen’s frame, a predatory look to her as she added, “After all, I also happen to be a home-wrecker.”

She had to fight back the flinch that tried to creep up her spine as Helen’s own hungry look matched hers, the Super not backing down as her eyes roamed all over the inventor’s body. “Of the worst kind.” She simply repeated.

And she actually made Evelyn gulp. Both of them liked it.

_Oh, how the tables have turned._

“I think Rogue’s just a very unlucky being,” Evelyn finally said, steering the conversation back to its’ original topic. “A Super who never actually wanted to be a Super and is desperate for a cure for a curse, because she regards her abilities as that; a _curse,_ where others may see it as a blessing.”

She laid back against her loveseat. “After years and years of looking and not finding a solution, though, she realized she might as well use it for her own benefit or, as she must believe, the benefit of the people; she agrees with the Screenslaver’s discourse and decided to use her powers to aid the cause, using Supers to get what she wants.”

“An anti-hero of sorts.”

“I think the term _anti-villain_ actually works better, in this case.” Evelyn said, her eyes bright with intrigue for their foe. “She believes her goal to be a righteous one, but doesn’t care about how she reaches it: We’re all pawns in a bigger game, the means to an end.”

She blurted it out without thinking, let alone regretting it, “Sounds a lot like you.”

Somehow, Evelyn actually expected her to say that. “Do you think my motives were good ones, then?”

Helen bit her lip, “The more time I spend with you, the more you rub off on me.” She casually let out, without saying anything else about it.

Evelyn smirked. She didn’t need Helen to talk any further.

“What I’m trying to say here is that I don’t know what you want to do about her, anymore, considering she seems to think just like you.”

“You’re an idiot.”

“Huh?” Helen hadn’t expected that.

Evelyn was throwing daggers at her, what was etched upon her features being far more than a simple glare. “If you, for one second, think I’m as sociopathic as her, then you’re an imbecile, Helen Parr. I may have the same pragmatic view of life, but unlike her I _do_ have a moral compass, even if you think I don’t.”

Evelyn stood up on shaky legs, her strength still avoiding her. “If you think that _wannabe_ and I are something alike, then you’re dead wrong, far more stupid than you give yourself credit for, because it would mean you think I’m as stupid as she is, it would mean you believe me to be as egocentric and self absorbed as she is, thinking I’m above everyone when I usually downplay myself, for it always does more good than harm.” She said, her voice slowly gaining momentum, slowly reaching back its’ usual strength, its’ angry tone.

She walked towards Helen, stumbling and basically falling over her, using her own body to trap her in place as she muttered between clenched teeth, “And if you think I was a fucking liar, that I said I’d keep my promises and that I’ll break them anyway,” She let out in a low, gravely voice. “Then you take me for an idiot just as big as the one you are, Helen Parr.”

Helen didn’t know what to say, “I just—“

“I have a deal with you.” Evelyn interrupted her. “I promised I’d help you get your stupid family back and I will. You promised you’d help me get what I want and _you will._ Rogue can burn in Hell for all I care. If you weren’t aware of all of this until just now, then you haven’t been paying attention, Helen.”

And Helen asked, “And what do you want?” For she realized she had forgotten the answer.

And, for the first time in probably forever, Evelyn responded without thinking about it.

“You.”

And she didn’t have time to realize what she had just said as Helen crashed her lips against her own.

Evelyn tried to get a grip on Helen, her arms quickly wrapping themselves around the Super’s neck as she allowed her to deepen the kiss, her teeth biting down on her lip in a way that was anything but gentle, physically commanding her to part them open.

Something inside of Evelyn made her obey.

As she did so, Helen’s tongue licked the spot she had just bitten, sloppily making it into the inventor’s mouth as she lifted her up by her thighs, Evelyn’s legs instinctively wrapping themselves around Helen’s waist, the Super’s hands moving from those legs to Evelyn’s backside, grabbing possessively.

Evelyn tried to pull away, tried to get something out of her mouth, a protest, an encouragement, _something—_

Helen growled at her behavior and immediately moved towards her neck, biting down hard enough that Evelyn let out a sinful moan, her fingernails digging themselves into the Super’s shoulders, the inventor convinced that she’d be bleeding once they were done.

Still, no words escaped her mouth.

Helen rushed towards the bedroom, — _their_ bedroom, she decided, —and landed on the mattress, Evelyn landing with a groan of pain, her body still too beaten, the sound breaking Helen out of her lustful trance.

Evelyn was breathing heavily, looking up at her through hooded eyes, her pupils dilated, lips parted, anticipation making adrenaline run free through her veins.

“What’s the matter?” She asked, a certain taunting tone to her voice. “Didn’t I tell you _not_ to be gentle with me?” She said, a smirk on her face as she read Helen like an open book.

Helen slowly positioned herself over the inventor, her hands gently guiding Evelyn’s up above her head, her lips mere inches from hers as she said, “I think you like it painful because you can’t stand having someone actually caring for you.”

Evelyn chuckled, but she didn’t comment on it.

Might as well have been a _yes._

So, painfully slow, Helen leaned in.

She never expected a gentle kiss to be all it took for Evelyn to be left breathless, the air escaping her lungs in a sudden exhale.

The kiss stretched in time, feeling way too short and way too long at the same time as Helen grew distracted, too busy with Evelyn’s lips to keep her hands trapped, moving her own to cup Evelyn’s face with one of them, the other gently roaming the inventor’s body, while Evelyn wrapped her own around Helen’s waist, fingers playfully spreading all over her lower back, barely touching below it.

When Evelyn moved her legs, spreading them so as to let Helen come closer, the Super already between them, her body finding more and more contact points with her, the auburn haired woman sighed against those bruised lips, smiling as she felt Evelyn give her a shaky breath.

“This is all too new for you, yes?” She asked her in between kisses, her hands still gently caressing the other woman’s skin, one on the side of Evelyn’s neck, the other one snaking its’ way underneath her clothing, laid flat against the inventor’s stomach.

Evelyn pulled her closer by the waist, kissing her forcefully, though that animalistic fury wasn’t there, anymore. “Yes,” She breathed out, her eyes closed as she kissed Helen again, her lips moving from the Super’s mouth to her jaw, her earlobe, then her neck.

She couldn’t fight the wild smile on her lips as she heard Helen chuckle, though it did freeze her.

Helen’s hand found her jaw again, forcing her back into their original position, making her look into her eyes.

She didn’t say anything as she leaned in, kissing her gently again, once more forcing the air out of Evelyn’s lungs.

This time, though, when she pulled away, Evelyn whined.

The inventor’s hands quickly found Helen’s neck and grabbed it, forcing her back against her lips.

The quiet demand that was more like a plea awoke something inside of the older woman.

So she decided she’d show Evelyn the ropes.

She pulled away once more, stopping Evelyn from whining once more by pressing her thumb against her lip, hushing her, “This time, we follow _my_ rules, is that okay?”

Evelyn’s eyes didn’t move from hers, not even to her lips as she quickly nodded.

Pleased by her obedience, Helen leaned in again.

She allowed herself to get lost in Evelyn’s desperation, her kiss, her lips, her hands and how greedily they grabbed her by her cheeks, or even her leg and how it hooked itself on her own, Evelyn’s foot hoisting Helen’s thigh up and against her own, pulling her even closer, as if that were even possible.

She broke their kiss, her lips quickly connecting to Evelyn’s earlobe, if only to soothe her before she actually had time to complain. “Relax,” She whispered, her breath hot against the woman’s ear, “Let me take care of you.” She mumbled, before catching Evelyn’s earlobe between her teeth, her tongue playfully swirling around it.

Evelyn pulled her closer by her neck, “It’s proving to be a hard task,” She said, her breathing heavy as she grew desperate, her body aching for more, its’ owner refusing to disobey the Super, only because it had registered inside her mind as a challenge and she was a very competitive person.

Or that she said to herself.

Curious, how she refused to lie to anyone else, but would constantly do it to herself.

“Don’t move,” Helen whispered her command, feeling as Evelyn nodded furiously. Checking if she could trust the woman, she continued with her ministrations, refusing to give her anything else.

Evelyn didn’t even squirm, only allowing her body to move along with Helen’s rhythm.

It pleased Helen, “Good girl,” She mumbled against her ear, feeling Evelyn tremble with her words.

So her lips moved from her earlobe to her neck, leaving a trail of kisses behind, only to go back over her own tracks, lips replaced with her wet tongue.

Evelyn moaned loudly, her hands escaping her control as they ran free through Helen’s hair, nails against her scalp being a delicious reward that made her groan against the inventor’s neck.

So she indulged and bit down, relishing on the deep moaning and those hands that scratched at her hair, the hips that moved in rhythm with her own.

Biting and nibbling, licking and kissing, she tried to distract Evelyn as both of her hands found their way underneath her sweater, slowly moving up until they reached Evelyn’s shoulders, Helen’s elasticity allowing her to do all of that without having to move much above the inventor.

It seemed Evelyn had understood what Helen attempted to do, for she released her, raising her arms and letting the Super take her sweater off, no bra to be found as Helen hadn’t put one on her.

She gave Evelyn a minute to inspect herself, the long, branching lines all over her body.

She heard her inhale sharply.

Helen tried to find her eyes, but refused to interrupt her as she watched the lines all over her chest, her abdomen, her arms—

“Are you okay?” She finally asked, unable to shake her worry, needing to hear the woman say something.

Evelyn didn’t look at her yet, too busy inspecting herself, her eyes devoid of any kind of negative or positive emotion, a cold, calculating intrigue in her eyes as they roamed all over herself.

“Well, this just makes two of us, now, doesn’t it?”

Helen frowned, “What do you mean?”

Evelyn looked into her eyes, blue ones darkened by lust and something else neither dared to acknowledge as she said, “Now we both have _hardcore tattoos_ in someone else’s name.”

Helen responded by crashing her lips against hers, once more.

“Yours is bigger,” She rushed out of her mouth, wishing to make her time away from Evelyn’s lips as short as possible.

She felt Evelyn chuckle against her mouth. “It is,” She simply said.

And Helen felt there was much more the inventor wasn’t saying.

She also knew she wouldn’t say it.

She didn’t mind, though. She was fine with it.

So she kissed her, her hands quickly moving back to Evelyn’s abdomen, her thumbs pressing against the skin as she drove them upwards, until she was cupping her breasts.

Without breaking their kiss, her tongue busy inside the brunette’s mouth, Helen ran her thumbs over Evelyn’s nipples, feeling the other woman bite her lip gently, as if asking her for more.

And more, she decided, she would give her.

Evelyn obeyed, her hands still tangled in auburn locks, her legs intertwined with Helen’s as the Super kissed, her thumbs pressing against hardening nipples, rubbing circles into them in a perfect synchrony.

Not a minute passed until Helen finally broke their kiss, her mouth trailing its’ way down towards Evelyn’s breast, her hand moving only to make room for her mouth to take over.

She pressed her tongue flat against the nipple, licking it thoroughly as she felt Evelyn’s hands gently scratch her head, a sign that she was doing a good job.

She smirked when those hands tugged forcefully at her hair, the inventor letting out a loud, sinful moan of lust, having been taken by surprise as her free hand found its’ way underneath her underwear and pants, her palm flat against all of her just at the same time as she twisted one nipple with her fingers, biting down on the other.

“ _Helen,”_ Was all Evelyn could manage to say.

The simple mention of her name made Helen mewl in pleasure.

She wanted to hear her say it again, but didn’t want to command her to do so.

She wanted to rip it out of her throat.

So Helen knew what she wanted to do.

She crawled back to Evelyn’s head, catching the confused look the inventor shot her before she kissed her again.

She used her abilities to stretch her arms and bring Evelyn’s remaining pieces of clothing down, leaving her naked with no complaint coming from the brunette, no _Don’t use your powers_ coming her way.

It was a positive change.

So Helen kissed her way downwards, her hands providing a great distraction as they touched Evelyn everywhere and nowhere, feeling muscles twitch and tense with her movements.

When she finally made it off the bed, placing herself on the ground, on her knees, Evelyn opened her eyes, watching her as she sat up, her hands still on the kneeling Super’s hair, legs spread as Helen stared back, breaking eye contact as her pupils darted down and locked themselves there, her stretched hands still on Evelyn’s body.

She recoiled her arms until they were of their original length, her hands grabbing Evelyn’s legs as the inventor moved closed to the edge of the bed, eager to help in a way.

It made Helen laugh.

Evelyn _blushed_ , but still smirked at her, “What?” She asked, shrugging, an unapologetic look to her face.

Helen shook her head a bit. “Nothing,” She responded, reading every reaction Evelyn had as she brought the woman closer, snaking her arms around her thighs until she was only a breath away from her core.

She looked up at Evelyn, only to find her staring back, eyes black with lust and parted lips that allowed her short breaths to leave her chest, hands still on Helen’s hair.

No will to command her.

She was all Helen’s.

The Super realized this.

So she allowed her eyes to flutter closed as she approached Evelyn’s clit and licked it generously.

“ _God_ ,” Evelyn blurted out, her back arching and fingers pressing into Helen’s skull as she felt that tongue move around, licking up the wetness that had accumulated between her legs.

Helen took that as a sign to keep going.

Her tongue moved up and down, then from side to side, then in circles, anything in order to prevent Evelyn from getting comfortable under one pattern, feeling her squirm as her thighs pressed against each side of her head, the Super deciding that it would be a good way to go; suffocated to death by Evelyn’s legs.

She looked up again and, as she made eye contact with a panting Evelyn, Helen dragged her tongue up, watching as Evelyn moaned, the inventor fighting to keep her eyes open and locked on Helen’s.

“Such a _tease_ ,” She said in between breaths, biting her bottom lip as Helen dragged her tongue up again, the motion being painfully slow. “ _Please_ ,” She blurted out, breath hitching on her mouth as she heard Helen moan in response.

An idea popped into her mind.

“What do I have to do, Helen?” She asked, realizing there was something the Super wanted out of her, that tongue applying just a bit more of pressure, making her whine deliciously.

Helen responded with the truth. “Say my name.”

Evelyn understood.

And Helen dived in.

“ _Helen_ ,” Evelyn moaned as the Super licked her up, a groan of pleasure escaping her throat at the sound of her name in the inventor’s voice, said with such lust dripping from her tone.

“ _Helen_ ,” The brunette insisted, her voice louder as Helen lapped at her clit, that moist tongue doing wonders to her, making her fall apart and putting her back together, all at the same time.

“ _Helen_!” The Deavor sister cried out as the owner of such a name picked up her speed, her face as damp as her underwear, the heat being too much for her to handle, the sound of her name making her nipples harden, her cunt throb, her brain short-circuit.

With Evelyn’s voice carrying her name, repeating it endlessly, the sound being way too similar to the singing of praises, the praying and worshipping of a sinful demon of lust, Helen couldn’t take it no more.

Stretching one of her hands so as not to move away from Evelyn’s thighs, she reached her own core, snaking her way underneath her own clothing and pushing in two fingers, moaning against Evelyn as she did so, entering the inventor with her tongue and stretching it inside of her.

Evelyn responded by pulling her hair, bringing her impossibly close, trapping her with her legs wrapped around her head, willing her to stay there.

“ _Yes_ ,” She managed to breathe out between moans, feeling comfortable enough to be vocal with her desires. “Yes,” And Helen didn’t see the devilish smirk on Evelyn’s face as she managed to cry out an, “ _Elastigirl_.” The only jab at Helen’s abuse of her own powers.

Helen responded by dragging her stretched tongue out slowly and then over her clit, staring at Evelyn while doing so, making the inventor bite down on her own lip hard so as to avoid crying out, but failing miserably as she moaned either way.

And she whimpered when she caught sight of Helen’s hand between her legs.

“What are you doing?” She asked her, growing hotter at the idea of simply watching Helen.

Helen glared at her. “You talk too much,” She said, recalling how the inventor had accused her of the same thing some time ago, before entering her with her tongue again.

It rendered Evelyn speechless.

Throwing her head back in pleasure, the inventor ended up landing on the mattress, her hands still secured on Helen’s hair as the Super kept her ministrations up, licking her clit and pumping in and out of her all at once with just her tongue, her elasticity allowing it as she also fingered herself, two digits entering her endlessly, her thumb rubbing her own core generously.

They moaned in perfect harmony as Helen’s fingers curled inside of herself, her tongue mimicking the motion.

She felt both her own and Evelyn’s walls clench around her fingers and tongue, clear indicator of how both were getting close.

And she wanted to drag it longer, but Evelyn had resorted to letting out a breathy _Helen, Helen, Helen_ every time she exhaled her short intakes of air, and the way she was pulling at her hair, and the way her hips rocked against her face, and the way her back arched and the name _Helen_ caught in her throat—

And then they were both crying out, Helen’s name on Evelyn’s lips, an unholy moan in Helen’s mouth as they both came undone the Super slowing her ministrations as they rose out their orgasms, Evelyn’s muscles spasming with the aftershock, as if the electric currents were still in her.

This time, though, the effect was all Helen.

There was no sound but their ragged breaths for a moment, both too lost in their own blissful lightheadedness, slowly coming to their senses.

Evelyn’s eyes were closed, the back of her hand laid against her forehead, her chest heaving with every breath she took as Helen crawled her way up towards her, planting kisses on every inch of skin along her way.

A happy laugh bubbled up and out of Evelyn’s mouth. “What are you doing, now?”

“I don’t know, what am I doing?” Helen teased her, kissing Evelyn all over her face, making the inventor chuckle as she shook her head in a halfhearted attempt to make her stop.

She stopped as Evelyn’s arms trapped her waist and brought her closer, her lips against Helen’s, no word coming out of them, for she was simply enjoying the moment.

“You’re doing something,” She said, a smart ass tone to her voice as she raised an eyebrow, making Helen chuckle.

“Maybe.”

And the silence then stretched between them.

It was comfortable, they both agreed in silence, to simply share the moment.

And there was something special to their little, shared piece of time, a certain promise of secrecy, intimacy, even complicity, that they both made, which allowed for certain truths to be laid bare, for certain words to be said into the night, for they knew they wouldn’t dare say them once daylight came for them, the darkness letting them say things they couldn’t say the morning after.

“You’re the one variable that brings the maze down, pragmatism be damned.” Evelyn confessed into their silence, blue eyes avoiding brown ones, her confession carrying an underlying tone, words not said, other secrets not said out loud just yet.

And Helen read them all between the lines.

Without having something to say back, she kissed the inventor, putting all of her emotion into that one kiss.

Evelyn kissed her back just as strongly.

It made Helen’s legs tremble.

“I’m the earthquake,” She mumbled against the brunette’s bruised lips, relishing on the hot breath that washed over her face as Evelyn chuckled.

“You’re the end of my world.” Evelyn mumbled after a pause, her voice low and her words slurred.

And Helen wanted to say something back, but nothing came to mind.

It wasn’t until they were both about to fall into a deep slumber, the gentle caress of Evelyn’s fingers on her shoulder lulling her to sleep, that she finally thought of her little comeback, never managing to say it.

_You’ve already destroyed mine._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello peeps! I'm 99% settled here in San Fran, so maybe JUST MAYBE updates will go back to normal. Emphasis on the maybe, because classes begin for me and I'll be: hella busy. Anyways, as per usual: opinions? critiques? whatever? leave em below, buddy.
> 
> Love y'all


	18. More in common than we thought

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Helen wakes and sees Evelyn's by her side, leading her to think of certain things. An emergency makes itself present and chaos ensues.

It was the second time in her life that she woke up alongside Evelyn.

It was the first time she woke up before her, though.

Helen blinked away the fog of slumber, her eyes slowly focusing on the figure that laid glued to her side, her head on her shoulder, brown, unruly hair tickling her neck, an arm keeping her in place by her waist.

She didn’t dare breath as she watched Evelyn, her body slowly rising and falling with her relaxed breathing.

She stretched her neck so that she could look at her face without moving much, so as not to rustle her awake. She had never seen the Inventor so quiet, so peaceful when devoid of her cold, calculating stare, her lazy yet powerful demeanor.

She realized she liked Evelyn with her guard down.

Her neck snapped back to its’ original position at that thought and the feeling of her heart seizing up in her chest.

It would be stupid, she recalled, trying to scold herself, to link Evelyn Deavor to the concept of love.

Minutes passed and the noise inside her head grew, the static making her go mad. Guilt for her behavior started to make its’ way into her brain, her heart, gripping it in a stranglehold.

Helen wanted to run away, to escape—

She tried to still her beating heart when Evelyn started moving, stretching like a cat and letting out a small groan and a long exhale. Blue, hazy eyes tried to gather their surroundings as Evelyn slowly faced Helen, her signature smirk finding its’ rightful place on her face as she finally focused on the Super, her droopy eyes looking lazier than ever, sleep making her eyelids heavier than usual.

“Hey there,” She let out, her voice husky and rough.

And Helen’s previous train of thought crashed against a wall, all fear vanished, her mind going blissfully blank.

“Hey,” She said back, her focus stolen by Evelyn’s smirk. “Sleep well?”

Evelyn nodded and began to stretch again, an exaggeratedly loud groan leaving her lips, making the Super jump a bit.

“Evelyn!” She playfully said, smacking her on her shoulder.

Evelyn simply laughed, “What? I’m just getting the laziness out of my bones.”

Helen couldn’t help it as she chuckled along with the Inventor.

And then silence fell over them, the brunette’s eyes still on Helen’s as she laid on top of her, her lack of will to get up and out of bed being comparable to her desire to abandon the Super to her own luck.

Meaning, less than none, negative.

Helen sensed what she was thinking of. “Me neither,” She said, her arms going around Evelyn’s waist multiple times, trapping her and bringing her closer, her lips placing a kiss on the Inventor’s.

She was about to pull away when she felt Evelyn’s smirk against her mouth, her hands tangling on her auburn locks and deepening the kiss.

She groaned as a frown formed on her face, liquid heat pooling up between her legs.

It seemed the blue eyed demon could get into her head just as much as she could get into hers, for she chuckled the sound reverberating deep in her, before she said, “Isn’t it a bit too early for that?”

“Didn’t know we had to schedule it.” Helen let out, her eyes still closed as she forced Evelyn’s lips against her own again.

And she would have complained about Evelyn’s laughter, would have told her to shut up, but she couldn’t muster up the will to interrupt her as she was kissing her again, her tongue playfully licking up her bottom lip, then forcing them apart so as to enter her mouth.

Helen had no self consciousness left as she moaned into the kiss, letting Evelyn have her way with her as those hands untangled themselves from her hair and started going lower.

She almost whined when Evelyn broke the kiss, but had to bite down the lustful whimper as those authoritative eyes locked on hers, a simple command on her lips, “Release me.”

Helen obeyed like the good girl she was.

Evelyn’s devilish smile was worth it.

And the way she adjusted herself between Helen’s legs, her hand already teasing her slit, her thigh forcing the Super’s apart, was an even greater reward.

“You’d better moan my name every time you make a sound, or I’ll stop.” Evelyn muttered against her ear, those slender fingers forcefully pressing against her clit and sliding downwards towards her entrance, ripping shaky breaths out of Helen’s throat. “Did you understand?”

Helen nodded. It was not enough for Evelyn.

She entered the woman with one finger. “I can’t hear you,” She said as she did so.

Helen rolled her hips against the movement, a sinful moan escaping her lips, “Yes, Evelyn.”

The Inventor dragged her tongue over Helen’s lips. “Much better.”

And so she began to torture her.

She slid that finger out of her and, with its’ newfound wetness, she used it to rub Helen’s clit, a second finger joining it as she pressed her body against Helen’s her mouth against her jugular, kissing and licking and biting as they moved in rhythm.

She was happy to hear how, every time she elicited a moan out of the woman’s lips, it came accompanied by a beautiful _Evelyn._

So she rewarded the Super, those fingers moving downwards once more.

And Evelyn looked into hungry brown eyes as she allowed those two fingers to enter Helen, the Super’s eyelids breaking there stare down as they closed on their own accord, her back arching against Evelyn’s body.

“ _Evelyn,”_ She moaned out, desperate for more.

And, since she had been so well behaved, more did Evelyn give her.

Using her thigh to push harder, she started pumping in and out of the Super with more strength than necessary, feeling her hand, her thigh, crash against the woman’s body every time she did so, her lips reconnecting to Helen’s pulse point.

She flattened her tongue against that sweet spot on Helen’s neck, tasting the salty dampness of her skin, humming contently to herself as she felt her heart rate quickening by the minute.

It was driving her insane.

She could feel Helen clenching around her fingers, her orgasm slowly building up with the constant, rough pace she had built, the sound of that _Evelyn, Evelyn, Evelyn_ coming out of those lips feeling like music to her ears.

But it was becoming overwhelming, too, making her fall out of rhythm just by a fraction of a second, but enough to make her pissed off at herself.

So Evelyn moved until she was hovering over Helen, her ministrations still going as she placed her free hand on Helen’s neck and pressed.

“I didn’t say you could shut up.” She growled as she felt Helen going quiet, mewling at the sound of the Super’s strangled moans.

It was making her go mad, but now she could concentrate a bit better as she picked up her pace, feeling Helen’s hands clawing at the one on her throat, though there was no real intention to pull it away.

Evelyn’s choking hand slid up against the top of Helen’s throat as she kept fucking her, the side of her thumb and index fingers burying themselves against the bottom of Helen’s jaw as she did so, cutting off any air as the auburn haired woman arched her back, stopped breathing altogether, holding what little breath she had as—

“ _Evelyn!”_ Helen moaned out loudly as her orgasm overcame her, her thighs clenching together around Evelyn’s hand, the Inventor allowing it by pulling her own leg away, her fingers still in Helen as she moved them, curling them, dragging them over that sweet spot inside of her, stretching the blissful sensation that was overflowing her, her stranglehold on her neck slowly giving in, letting the woman breathe again.

And Helen smiled at Evelyn, thinking the woman had had enough.

Her smile was wiped from her face as Evelyn got up, getting the covers off them as she dragged Helen by her legs towards the side of the bed, all of it being too familiar for Helen as Evelyn kneeled on the ground and got the woman’s thighs over her shoulders.

And when she dived in without a fair warning, licking her up hungrily, Helen had to bite her bottom lip to keep from screaming, the stimuli being far too much for her tired body to handle.

She did a halfhearted try to push Evelyn away, but the pleasure spiked with pain that she was providing her with was enough to make her keep moaning the woman’s name, her hands gripping at brown locks like they were a lifeline, anchoring her to the ground so as not to let her float away into space.

Evelyn kept licking her roughly, her tongue everywhere, teasing the woman’s entrance with swirls before going back to her clit.

She could feel Helen’s thighs clenching against her head, trying not to but failing miserably.

That was until she wrapped her lips around her clit and sucked hard.

She kept doing it, even as she heard Helen scream her name, moaning against her core in response.

She didn’t stop as she felt Helen’s legs grip her head tighter, pressing it wildly as those hands pulled at her hair brutally, animalistic behaviors overruling Helen’s usually calm and collected demeanor as a second orgasm made her muscles twitch this and that way.

Minutes passed until Helen managed to relax, her breathing slowing down, flinching only as Evelyn moved away from her, her body already missing the contact.

She blushed but smiled nonetheless at the woman between her legs, as the inventor smirked up at her.

“You were right,” Evelyn said, resting her head against Helen’s right thigh. “There’s no need to schedule these things.”

Helen laughed, shaking her head as she watched Evelyn get up and crawl her way back to her.

And she was about to kiss her, return the favor, but then an alarm started blaring all around them, lights going red.

“Shit,” Evelyn murmured, a serious frown etched upon her features.

“What’s that?” Asked her a suddenly concerned Helen.

Evelyn looked at her, “Frozone’s direct line.”

Both of them got out of bed, running towards Evelyn’s main desk in the inner chamber of her lab.

The screen around them became black, a straight, green line splitting it in half. Helen didn’t have time to ask what that was as she heard Lucius’ voice saying, “ _Hello?”,_ making the green line spike up and move.

“ _We need your help, quickly!”_ Someone desperately said.

_“On my way.”_ Lucius barked out, hanging up.

“No time for talking,” Evelyn sentenced. “You need to suit up—“ The screen turned red again, making her cut herself off with a groan. “What now?” She groaned at the monitor.

A news channel appeared on the screen, the journalist looking nervously into the camera, “ _Chaos floods Metroville’s streets as our Superheroes go rogue and terrorize the neighborhood—“_

They watched as the woman was cut off by Krushauer appearing on the frame, taking her mic off her hands as He-Lectrix made his entrance on the other aide of the picture, frying the camera with his powers.

“Okay,” Evelyn mumbled. “Maybe we both should suit up.”

“No,” Helen commanded. “You’re not going out there.”

“Helen—“

“You almost _die_ with that little act of yours.” She let out between gritted teeth. “You’re staying here, Evelyn. Besides, we can’t let Rogue have any of us and I need you to control me if the need arises.” She tried to reason with her.

And there was something in Evelyn’s eyes that spoke of her unwillingness to obey, even as she let out a reluctant, “Okay.”

Still, Helen knew it wasn’t okay. She decided to let it slide, though, fully aware of the woman’s stubborn nature and how she’d never reach an agreement with her.

So Helen suited up, leaving with an earpiece on her ear, Evelyn on the other end of the communication, the elastic woman moving towards the epicenter of the mayhem in the heart of Metroville.

* * *

 

To Hell with Helen’s reluctance to being helped.

Evelyn muted her mic, headset still on her head as she walked towards her suit in the middle of her lab and began to work on it, changing the algorithms and applying some prototype-level technology to it that may improve it.

Just as much as it may kill her.

Meanwhile, an idea popped into her brain, so she called someone dear to her, because she’d need some help to go through with her plan.

* * *

 

“You’re awfully quiet.”

A beat. Then,

_“You know where you’re going to.”_

And Helen was back in square one, wishing to rip her hair off her scalp.

“Evelyn.”

_“Helen.”_

“I know what you’re doing.”

_“Oh, really?”_ She heard the inventor question. “ _What am I doing?”_

“Whatever the fuck you please, despite my requests for you not to do so.” Helen said, a serious tone on her voice as she kept navigating the city. She heard Evelyn gasp.

“ _Swearing outside the bed?! Now, Helen, you’re spicing it up a bit, I see.”_

_“Evelyn,”_ She said, a warning in the way she pronounced her name.

“ _Helen,”_

“Not this again.”

“ _Not what again?”_

Helen merely sighed. “I’m here.” She said, suddenly all professional, as people in Super suits came into her vision.

She knew Evelyn could see them too, for she clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth. “ _That’s the Incredibles.”_ She commented, seeing the red suits moving around frantically.

They both watched as Dash entered a building while Violet remained outside, breaking the windows with force fields she threw at them.

“Do you think it’s something to worry about?” Helen asked around the lump that had just formed in her throat, trying to forget for just a minute that they were her children.

Nevermind the fact that it was impossible.

“ _No, I think they’re just scaring people off. I wouldn’t let it worry you too much.”_

And Helen was about to respond, but decided against it as she saw people leave the building, Dash running after them but never even touching them, Violet sneering at them but not harming them in any way.

It brought relief to Helen’s heavy heart.

“ _Told you so, H.”_

Helen nodded, letting the nickname relax her. “Yeah, you told me so, _Ev.”_

She smiled at the breathy chuckle on the other end of the line.

The mirth was gone the minute after, though. “ _H, listen. Our priority here is Rogue and, if not, Frozone. We’ve got to keep him away from her—“_

“There he is!” Helen blurted out as she watched him appear on the scene.

Without second thought, Elastigirl threw herself into the war zone, following the frozen man around the city as he approached the Parr kids.

As he landed on the ground, both Dash and Violet turned to look at him, Elastigirl being safe on a building’s roof.

He placed his hands on his hips, “Where’s your mother when you’re behaving like this?” He asked them, then, he added, “And where the _Hell_ is the freak of a brother you two have?!” With a certain urgency to his voice, for he was actually _terrified_ of Jack-Jack.

Both Dash and Violet shared a look and the blonde then started running _away_ from Frozone, at the same time as the black haired girl disappeared with her invisibility, probably running after her brother.

“Hey!” He called after them, freezing his way towards them, trying to catch up with the blond’s speed, disregarding the invisible girl, for he knew he’d never find her.

Helen watched with panic as Mr. Incredible began to stampede his way towards Frozone from his right, the man being completely unaware of it.

“ _Frozone!”_ She called, making eye contact with him for one second as she dropped over him, tangling him in her legs and pulling him up as she recoiled her arms, which were gripping the other building’s roof’s edge with strength.

“Helen, what—“ He didn’t get to finish his sentence as he heard the ice underneath them being destroyed by Robert’s stampeding, making his eyes snap towards him, watching as the man _glared_ at him with malice in his blue eyes. “Okay, what the _Hell’s_ up with your husband, woman?” He looked up at her again, “If this is because of the other Friday, I tell you, Honey wouldn’t let me leave the house—“

“He’s being controlled.” Helen said as they reached the roof, the elastic woman disentangling herself from him.

“ _What?”_ He asked, concerned, before he remembered something and said, “Is Evelyn—“

“She has nothing to do with it.” Elastigirl sentenced, seriousness taking over her face. “He’s being controlled by—“

She couldn’t finish the sentence as Screech suddenly appeared out of a portal, taking Frozone with him, the man letting out a freaked out scream, for he hadn’t been expecting it.

“ _Shit.”_ She heard coming from the other side of the comm.

Elastigirl immediately knew what she had to do.

She followed them, trying her best not to let them get out of sight while keeping herself as high off the ground as possible, for all of her possible threats laid there.

Screech was awfully fast, though, and Helen quickly lost sight of him, cursing under her breath as she focused on her hearing, trying to locate where the flapping of his wings came from.

He was flying away from her, to her right.

She quickly began to move in that direction.

“ _We can’t let Rogue—“_

_“_ I know.” Elastigirl quietly responded, successfully shutting Evelyn down.

She moved as fast as she could, trying to reach him before it was too late—

She turned on a corner and saw the owl man looking at her, a vicious smirk on his lips, Frozone giving her his back.

Rogue right in front of him, a smile on her face.

She felt a shudder abandon her lips as Evelyn automatically turned her mask on, making her fall into that dream-like state she was growing used to being under.

Frozone turned and looked at her, a scowl on his features, “And what are you waiting for to join us, Elastigirl?”

“ _Run away.”_

So Elastigirl did.

Stretching her arms and holding two lampposts behind her, she catapulted herself away, giving herself enough space to breathe.

Screech and Frozone were quick to react though, needing only a hurried, “Don’t let her escape!” From Rogue to get into action.

She tried to get away, dodging the screeching owl that approached her right, the freezing man to her left, aware of the three red suits running around underneath her on the ground, the electric man that accompanied them, then—

She tried to stop her momentum from bringing her forwards towards the portal that was opening right in front of her, but it was useless.

She landed on Voyd’s arms, who then pushed her against Brick, who trapped her in between her own, muscular hands.

Another portal opened on her face, Rogue coming out of it, a vicious smirk on her lips. “Well, well, well. What do we have here?” She eyed Elastigirl up and down. “Still untamable, I see.”

“Will remain like that for quite a while, darling.”

Rogue chuckled. “We’ve got all of the time in the world. Everyone,” She said to her lackeys, “Go wreak havoc.”

So all the Supers that had gathered around them left, destroying buildings and terrorizing the people.

“Brick, you’re to keep her hostage and near me.” Rogue commanded the big woman, who nodded in agreement.

They walked around idly, Rogue letting Elastigirl watch as her city was turned upside down by the same people who once had sworn to protect it.

She couldn’t do anything but watch as Mr. Incredible and his two children wrecked an apartment building, scaring the people as they ran away in fear.

Or He-Lectrix, who fried the cables that went all over the city, leaving it in darkness as night slowly creeped up on them once more.

Or Krushauer, compacting cars until they were nothing but a small piece of trash.

Or Voyd, opening portals that sandwiched buildings between them, making them fall through them and closing them as they hit the ground once more, shaking the people in them as if she were an earthquake.

Or Screech, deafening the citizens that tried to make a run for it.

She couldn’t do anything but watch in horror and despair.

But then, “This wasn’t what the Screenslaver wanted.” She said, trying to reason with Rogue, who looked at her with a funny look on her face.

“And what would you know about what he wanted or not?” Rogue asked her, mirth gone from her face as she glared, approaching the woman until they were face to face, “What the Hell would you know about the one man who tried to bring you all down?”

“I know more about her than you’d ever imagine.”

Rogue raised a brow, “ _Her?”_ She chuckled, shaking her head. Then, with that vile smile on her lips. “I’ll teach you a thing or two, _Elastigirl.”_ She said, her patience already gone, her hands ready to grasp that elegant neck and watch as she—

_“_ You won’t be teaching anyone, anything.”

Rogue froze dead on her tracks, slowly turning around to look at whoever had just said that.

She saw a woman, short hair, levitating in the air, her face covered by a mask that resembled…

“Oh, so _you’re_ the one and only, _Evelyn Deavor?”_ She asked, a smirk on her lips, the name having popped up on Helen’s mind at the sight of the inventor. “Congratulations for making _Mrs. Incredible_ an unfaithful woman. I wonder what her husband would have to say about that?”

Evelyn lolled her head to a side. “I couldn’t give less of a shit of what Robert thinks about me, to be honest.” She said with a bored tone as she folded her arms over her chest.

“And you also happen to know who they are, Super alter-egos left aside?”

“I also happen to be the one you keep talking about.”

And Elastigirl could only stare as Rogue’s eyes widened, as if she had just seen something, then, “You’re…”

Evelyn nodded.

“You’re the Screenslaver,” She said, turning and looking at Elastigirl, aware of how the woman was remembering her past against that _villain._

“I like to believe it’s more of an idea, an abstract concept, if you will, but yes, we are the same person.”

Rogue looked at her with a quivering lip, watching as Evelyn slowly landed right in front of her. “You have no idea of what you mean to me—“

“You’re right, I don’t,” Evelyn said, a sarcastic tone to her voice. “Just like you don’t have a fucking clue of what I talked about in my little _villainous monologue,_ it seems.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean that you should take a look around you, _Hijacker.”_ Evelyn said, her arms stretching away from her as she showed Rogue their surroundings. “I never said _let’s terrorize the common public,_ I said they should _wake up,_ nothing else.” She scolded the woman, who slowly walked towards her.

“Evelyn…” Rogue began gently.

“Brave of you, to use my name like that.” Evelyn warned in a threatening tone, making Rogue flinch.

But the blonde was standing right in front of her, already.

Making eye contact through those goggles of hers.

“If you just paid a little bit of attention to what I have to say on the subject…” A slow smile. “I think we would reach an agreement, don’t you think.”

It hadn't been a question.

Elastigirl trashed against Brick’s hands. “ _Evelyn, no!”_

But it was too late, for the woman was slowly taking off her mask, letting it hang idly near her neck, over her chest, a surprised look on her face. “Yeah, I think we could reach a common ground, you and I.”

Rogue’s smile grew in size as she caressed Evelyn’s face with her thumb, before both hands grabbed her wrists. “You didn’t believe I wouldn’t remember your face from Summer’s bar, did you, now?”

“To be honest, I didn’t even know—“

“I looked into those gorgeous eyes of yours,” Rogue whispered, getting closer to Evelyn’s face. “And I never forget a pretty girl’s face, not if they look like you.”

“I made a mistake, then.”

Rogue nodded. “You made a mistake. So you’ll have to forgive me, Screenslaver, for bending you to my will like this, but I’ve learned not to trust anyone, not even those who think like me.”

Evelyn shook her head, as if saying no apology was needed. “It’s completely understandable.”

“Now,” Rogue said, a full on grin on her face as a sick idea came to her mind. “Why don’t _you_ take care of your lover?”

Evelyn nodded. “I will.” She said, slowly walking past Rogue as Brick released Elastigirl.

“Evelyn,” The sleepwalking Elastigirl said as she fell to the ground, slowly trying to get up.

But then Evelyn kicked her face hard, making her ricochet off to the side, the Inventor walking the several meters the woman had just flied away.

“Don’t _Evelyn_ me.” She said, hearing as Rogue laughed behind them, watching the show.

Elastigirl got up, “Evelyn…” She said, unable to believe her eyes as the brunette she had grown awfully fond of fell into Rogue’s hands, too.

Evelyn punched her with her left, this time without that much strength, but her suit sent electric currents all over the elastic woman’s body, making her scream with pain. “You’re a fool,” She sentenced, before punching her with her right, another electric shock going through Helen. “If you ever thought this was more than a fling, you’re a fool. An irresponsible one, to let yourself make mistakes like these.”

Evelyn front kicked Helen away, slowly walking towards the fallen Super as she once again tried to get up. “How foolish of you, to think I’d ever actually side with you.” She said, “How foolish of you to believe you were more than just flesh warming up my bed.”

She grabbed Elastigirl by the collar, bringing her up until her feet were no longer touching the ground.

Until neither of them were touching the ground, for she started to float.

“Did you think I’d feel any kind of sympathy for you? Hm?” Evelyn asked, a smile that promised pain, so far away from that wolfish smirk of hers, taking over her face as she inspected Elastigirl’s face. “Did you think I’d cry with you for that stupid family of yours?" Her eyes darted towards Helen's wrist, then, "That I’d feel any kind of empathy for that useless girlfriend you once had?”

Tears prickled Helen’s eyes, but she refused to let them fall as she clenched her jaw, fury taking over, “You don’t have the right to bring Gail into this.”

But Evelyn laughed, gripping a little bit more of material, slowly choking Helen in a way so distant to the one they had experienced that same day, before the Chaos that Rogue brought with her. “What? Are you _sad_ that your little _Stratogale_ is dead?”

And, by accident, Evelyn broke her spell on Helen.

Gritting her teeth, Elastigirl snaked herself around Evelyn, her limbs keeping Evelyn’s at bay as her neck curled around the Inventor’s many times, trying to choke the life out of her.

The paralyzed Evelyn was strong though, the suit giving her inhuman abilities, so she flied high in the air as she struggled, trying to make Elastigirl lose her focus.

Her face started growing red, but Evelyn didn’t panic as she managed to grab the woman around her throat and started to press her fingers into her, strangling back with supernatural force.

It made Elastigirl immediately pull away, only to go back into her original form, her neck still trapped between Evelyn’s fingers.

Evelyn growled at her before letting out a battle cry and throwing the Super against the ground, right in front of Rogue’s feet.

The blonde watched with _mirth_ in her eyes, completely amused by the fight.

Evelyn landed right in front of them.

“You’re an imbecile, Helen.” She stated, slowly walking towards her, grabbing her by her neck once more and bringing her up in the air, punching her once with her electrifying right fist, pivoting with the movement until Rogue was to her right. “You’re the biggest imbecile there is. Stupider than anyone else I’ve ever met.”

“ _I hate you.”_ Helen said, tears falling freely, silently, as she realized there was nothing she could do.

“And _that’s_ your mistake, you see?” Evelyn said, a feral grin on that usually lazy face as she used her free hand to grab the goggles that were attached to her mask, pulling them away from it, the lower half of the mask still glued to her suit by some kind of magnet. “To have trusted that one who’s not worthy of your trust.” She shook her head, clicking her tongue against the roof of her mouth. “That’s the second biggest mistake anyone could ever make: to trust _Evil Endeavor.”_ She said, the playful nickname sounding horribly distorted, coming out of her mouth in a situation such as that one.

But then something popped into the frowning Elastigirl’s mind, a question. “And what’s the first biggest mistake anyone could ever make, then?” She asked, despite herself, her position, her game being over.

She didn’t get her eyes away from Evelyn’s face as the woman said, “To be cocky, too confident in oneself.” Nonchalantly, while inspecting the goggles on her right hand.

It didn’t make much sense to her, so she figured she might as well ask, since she’s already facing her demise. “And why would that be such an awful mistake?”

“Because you may end up believing yourself smarter than anyone else,” And she didn’t see it coming when Evelyn suddenly looked at Rogue and added, “And no one’s smarter than me.”

And, before the blonde could react, Evelyn released Elastigirl and smacked her mask’s goggles on the woman’s face, turning them on and making the woman’s world go blank.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still here! Let me tell you all, now, that MTAE is near its' end. It's been a wild ride, y'all! Maybe 2 chapters more and then the show's over.
> 
> Still, if you enjoy my writing and enjoy the incredibles fandom, you may want to stick around: I've started a little thing some days ago, called Not Made By Design, which revolves around Helen /Truax/ and let's us see into her past, right before she got a certain, curious tattoo...
> 
> Anyways, thoughts? Leave em below, buddy.


	19. Big misunderstandings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Evelyn reveals her final act, her masterplan, to Helen, finally fulfilling her part of their deal.

Helen was about to lose her goddamn mind.

Well, truth be told, she was certain she had maybe already lost it.

All she know is that she was currently looking at Evelyn, under Rogue’s control, _hypnotizing_ the blonde like she had done to her a year ago, those goggles making the woman in question stare blankly ahead.

And Evelyn was _smirking_ at the villain.

“Rogue, make the Supers stop.”

The woman nodded and then suddenly everyone stopped.

“Good, now make them come here.”

And then the Supers were surrounding them, looking at each other but not saying a word, not moving anymore.

Evelyn looked around, her eyes finally landing on Helen, still on the ground.

She moved towards the elastic woman and offered her her hand. “Come on, the show’s over, baby.”

_…Baby?_

Helen accepted her hand, though she had a frown on her face, for she didn’t know what to make of it, feeling skeptical about her.

Evelyn helped her to her feet. “Are you alright? Did I play too rough with you?”

Helen shook her head so as to clear her thoughts. “What’s going on, Evelyn?”

And Evelyn’s smirk was back in place, though there was something entirely not hers in it.

And the way she spoke, how she used her voice in a certainly different way, like it was hers but at the same time it wasn’t…

“This is not exactly your _Menelaus_ , dear _Helen of Sparta_.” And a wink.

It dawned on Helen, then.

“Summer?” She asked, watching as Evelyn nodded vigorously. “You’re… _controlling her?”_ Another nod. “But how?”

_Summer_ opened Evelyn’s eyes as wide as she could, her fingers pointing at her irises, making Helen aware just then of the small circles that surrounded her eyes, the transparency of the contacts making them almost invisible. “Let’s say Winter Queen has many tricks up her sleeve, these babies being one of them.” She inhaled before saying, “ _Modified versions_ of those used in…” She looked at Rogue, a sneer making it to her face, “ _That_ bitch. Improved so as to let the, let’s say, _puppeteer_ give their _puppet_ some emotions, as Evelyn explained to me a bit ago over the phone.”

Helen was stunned into silence.

Evelyn had made her believe she was under Rogue’s control.

_No, not Evelyn. Summer._

Summer knew the Inventor well enough to act like her and no one would be none the wiser about it.

“Thank you,” Helen said, wholeheartedly. “I don’t think you realize how important the role you just played is.”

Summer chuckled. “I know, actually. I know everything there is to know about Evelyn.”

Helen gulped. “Everything, you say?”

And _Summer_ was taking a step forwards. “Yes, _everything,_ even things she doesn’t know or maybe acknowledge.”

“And what is it that she doesn’t acknowledge?” Helen tried.

Summer laughed, shaking her head. “Oh, no. I cannot tell you that. Come to my bar if you ever want to have this chat but, for now, I’ll have to leave you in Evie’s hands.” She let out a low whistle. “Heaven knows I’d be killed if I told you anything. After all, she’s hearing us, you know? Another of her modifications.”

Helen blushed. “Oh.”

“Yeah, anyways. I’ll leave you two be, ladies.”

And then Helen watched as Evelyn blinked forcefully, shaking her head, a hand going to her temple as a frown took over her face.

“Ah, shit.” She looked into Helen’s eyes, apologetically. “Did it hurt this badly when I controlled you, a year ago?”

Helen grinned, unable to believe her Evelyn was alright. “Yeah, it did hurt a bit.” She tried to contain her happiness, “How did you manage to fool Rogue into thinking she got you?”

Evelyn winked, “An unpredictable mind is hard to control for her, but a blank one? Already under someone else’s control?” She shrugged, “Figured I might as well take a chance and I was right; I was easy enough to predict that she thought I was under her control, but I was actually under Summer’s.” She furrowed her brow as she touched her head again, giving the woman in front of her a sheepish smile. “Remind me to apologize, later.”

And then Helen was crushing her in a hug, lifting her from the ground, making the brunette laugh as she remembered something.

“Oh, you had set a reminder for today, about killing me. Want me to postpone it again or…?”

Helen laughed, bringing Evelyn back to the ground, her face mere inches from the Inventor’s, “Let me cancel that reminder.”

Evelyn pressed her forehead against Helen’s, “Cancelled, then.” A second passed, then, “I’m killing Summer, by the way. How dare she tell you those things? She might give you _ideas.”_

Helen laughed, “Oh, she did give me many of those.”

“That’s it, I’m killing that bitch.”

Helen kept on laughing, pressing her face against Evelyn’s hair. “No.”

“I am. I mean, she did give you a rather rough time, didn’t she?”

“Not rougher than what you would have given me, to be honest. Besides, she’s got a lot of stuff to tell me about you.”

But then Evelyn was pulling away, a rather sad look on her face as she said, “Unfortunately, she’ll never be able to tell you.”

And Helen would have asked why, but then it dawned on her as she saw the people all around them, waiting for Rogue’s orders.

Three red suits behind Evelyn, staring blankly at them.

Helen gulped, her eyes going from her family to the woman she had gone to in search for help. “Evelyn—“

“Rogue,” Evelyn said, looking sadly into Helen’s eyes as she pulled away, “I want you to make everyone go back to normal.”

And, just like that, Rogue snapped her fingers and everyone was free from her control.

And, as everyone looked at each other, confused about what just happened, remembering it all, the Incredible family rushed to Helen’s side.

“ _Mom!”_ Both Parr kids shouted, while Robert let out a gruff _Helen!_

And, as Evelyn tried to stand aside, looking into Helen’s eyes with pain in her own as the elastic woman grabbed her by the wrist, refusing to let her go, the Parr family realized it was _her_ in that suit, no other than _Evelyn Deavor._

So they immediately got in guard, the three of them focusing on Evelyn.

Helen saw it.

She released Evelyn, her hands going up in the air right in front of her, “Wait, no—“

But it was too late as Robert was suddenly stampeding towards her, ready to strike her down.

Evelyn braced herself, placing her forearms right in front of her as Robert tried to punch her down.

His fist connected to her suit, a curious shockwave coming out of the impact, but no harm coming to any of them.

Except, maybe, for Robert’s ego, for a machine was able to fight back against his strength.

“What?” He muttered, his eyes going from Evelyn’s suit to his hands, then back to blue eyes that stared right into his.

She rolled her eyes, casting a quick glance at Helen as she said, “ _Anyone_ can be Super strong,” Repeating herself, but then she got serious again as she looked at him and added, “This is a _big_ misunderstanding, Robert.”

“ _Big_ misunderstanding, alright.” He growled between clenched teeth, banging his fist against his other hand’s palm.

Evelyn took a step backwards, her eyes constantly darting towards Helen.

Helen could sense what worried her.

_She doesn’t want to hurt your family._

Helen immediately grabbed her kids by their shoulders. “You two stay _right here.”_ She barked at them, both Parr children nodding in agreement and quietly standing there, watching as Helen went for Robert.

“Bob,” She called, a certain urgency to her tone as she watched the other Supers slowly surround them, realization hitting them too as they recognized Evelyn, all of them putting two and two together in an awfully mistaken way, thinking it had been her who had them under her control all along.

Robert wasn’t paying attention to her, moving closer to the backing Evelyn. “How dare you show your face around here?”

“If you weren’t too busy being a brute, you’d get the answers you’re looking for.” Evelyn said, not really wishing to taunt him, but managing to do so anyway.

The man roared as he tried to punch her again. This time, Evelyn dodged.

“You _monster!”_ Robert roared at her, trying to punch her once more.

Evelyn dodged. “You’re a troglodyte and you don’t see me calling you out on it.” She said between clenched teeth, annoyed at his antics.

But then Robert took her by surprise, feinting an attack so as to make her move, then catching her in the middle of her evasion, bringing her up in the air by her suit’s collar.

“Do you think you’re better than anyone else?” He questioned, fury coating his features. “Do you think you’re above the rest of us? That no one nor nothing can touch you?”

She gave him a bored, tired look. “Oh, Robert. If only you paid attention, you’d realize that in this life’s angle, I’ve decided to be the bisector.” She saw him frown and rolled her eyes. “Not above, not below; always in the middle.”

He growled, “You sure as Hell know how to get in the middle of things, alright.” He said, bringing his arm back to punch her.

Helen reached him just in time, “ _Robert!”_ She roared at him, tangling her arms around his fist.

But he shook her off, “I can handle this!” He said, not even looking at her, at the urgency in her eyes, the plea hidden behind them.

Evelyn clenched her eyes shut and, as that fist moved towards her, the adrenaline rushing through her veins accidentally made her activate the propellers on her feet, making her fly high in the air, Robert’s attack frustrated as he gripped her tightly, for he was moving along with her, hanging from her neck.

Helen tried to bring them down, catching her husband by his ankles and pulling with all of her strength.

She didn’t manage, though, as they both got high in the air, making the elastic woman release them so as not to fly along with them.

“What are you doing?!” Robert roared at her, a bit in fear, a bit in anger. Evelyn tried to balance herself, doing her best not to shake him off.

“It was an accident!” She said, managing to find her footing in a way, floating idly as Robert tried to climb her up, the woman’s hands going to his waist so as to help him up, but then he was tearing her hands away from him.

“Don’t touch—“ He didn’t get to finish the sentence as he released himself from her, falling down to the ground.

Evelyn darted towards him, catching him right before he touched the ground and helping him on his feet before he realized what she was doing and managed to push her away, again. Then, she floated away once more, trying to keep herself away from danger.

The Parr kids shared a long, curious look at the Inventor’s behavior. Why was she helping them?

Voyd approached them as they discussed what was going on in hushed voices, placing her hands on their shoulders. “Hey, it’s alright, kids,” She reassured them.

Frozone approached her, too, remembering that Helen had mentioned _Evelyn_ had nothing to do with their hypnosis. “Voyd, what’s going on?” He asked her, confused as to what was happening.

Voyd shook her head, “Evelyn’s just—“

She cut herself off as she saw Screech approach her from behind.

Her eyes opened wide, “ _Evelyn, behind you!”_ She screamed.

But it was too late, as the Inventor turned around and got face to face with the owl man.

Screech deafened her with a supersonic sound, making her lose her balance once more, falling to the ground, where Robert was waiting.

It made Helen spring into action once more.

She ran towards him as he picked the brunette up from the ground. “Robert Parr, you will _listen to me!”_ She roared at him.

Still, he ignored her command. “Wait a minute, Helen, I’m busy over here.” He said, as his hand gripped Evelyn’s neck tightly, making the woman struggle against his fingers.

“You’re making a mistake!” She shouted at him, her arms snaking themselves around his, holding him in place.

It made him grit his teeth, forcing the man to go with his plan B.

So he strangled Evelyn, the woman being unable to breathe, already.

“Stop!” Helen screamed, not releasing him as she moved to stand right between them, though his big body made it easy for him to continue with his task, even with his wife between him and his enemy.

“Why should I?!” He roared, his hands tightening their grip on the inventor, making her let out a strained sound. “Why are you so invested in protecting her?!”

“Because it’s thanks to her that you’re free! It’s thanks to her that you’re back with me!”

“She’s _lied to you,_ Helen! She’s probably the one behind all of this!”

Helen looked back into Evelyn’s eyes, noticing how she was staring right back at her, those blue irises slowly hiding away behind heavy eyelids.

“The one behind this all is there!” Helen said, pointing at Rogue, goggles still on, a blank expression on her face.

Robert’s furious expression got even more exaggerated. “And who’s goggles are those, huh?!”

She heard Evelyn choke against his grip.

She couldn’t take it no more.

And there were tears in Helen’s eyes as she exploded.

“ _I love her!”_

And the World then grew silent, as if time had just stopped.

Helen had shut her eyes closed.

She suddenly heard a thud, like someone had just dropped to the ground.

Then, Evelyn coughing, taking deep, desperate breaths.

She opened her eyes and immediately fell to the ground with the inventor, helping her up into a sitting position. “Ev,” She said, worry on her tone and her face as the brunette kept coughing.

Evelyn nodded her head. “I’m fine,” She said in a still strangled voice, coughing up the words.

“I’m so sorry,” Helen said, really feeling it. “I’m sorry for—“

“It’s _fine,”_ Evelyn said with a certain warning to her voice as she looked into Helen’s eyes, an emotion the auburn haired woman had never seen shining around her black pupils.

And she grew too focused in those lazy, knowing eyes, for she had forgotten about the rest of the people around them, remembering their presence only when she heard Mr. Incredible whisper a small, “Is it true?”

Helen looked at him, feeling like a deer in the headlights. “What?”

He looked devastated. “Helen…”

Helen shook her head, not knowing what to say, what to do. “I, I just—“

_What have I done?_

_“_ Helen,” He tried again, approaching them both, Evelyn flinching as he got _too close_ to her.

Helen’s teary eyes weren’t comforting for him as she looked away. “I’m sorry, Bob.”

And the devastation on his face suddenly gave way to fury, once more.

And all Evelyn could remember seeing before the World turned into a dark void was Robert’s fist moving towards her face at breakneck speed.

And all she could remember hearing was Helen’s voice screaming her name in a way she wished she never had to hear in her life, again.

Then, silence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Robert, /please/.
> 
> Next chapter WILL be the last one, folks. It's been a wild ride, hasn't it?
> 
> Thoughts? Leave them on the comments, pal.


	20. The end is what matters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Evelyn goes through what had happened after her encounter with Robert, learning how Helen kept her part of their deal. Both women make their choices; does the end justify the means or not?

The Sun got into the room through the opened windows, bathing the Deavor brother in its’ light and warmth as he stretched a bit, making the sleep escape his body as he did so.

He got out of his room, still on his pajamas, and moved towards the kitchen, his eyes constantly looking for the windows, smiling at the beauty of the early day outside, the beach that was visible, located just a few blocks away from the high building he was in.

As he entered the kitchen, he moved towards the coffee maker and brewed enough for two cups, placing a sugar cube in one of them.

Carefully picking both of them up, he moved towards the apartment’s living room, finding his sister, her body covered by a silken, grey robe, sitting on the settee as she read the newspaper.

“Good morning, Evie.”

Evelyn looked up from the paper she was reading. “Good morning, Win.” She smirked at him, her signature expression on that feline face of hers, as she took one of the cups from his hand and took a sip, humming happily. “Just how I like it.”

“Black, like your soul.” He joked. She laughed.

“Exactly.”

He took a seat next to her. “How are you feeling?”

Evelyn sighed through her nose. She was tired of that question, but it had been their morning routine for weeks, months, dare she say, already.

Well, six weeks, actually.

“Good, I’m good.” Still, she unconsciously touched her nose every time he asked her, “I’m grateful for our medical team, as per usual.”

“They did a great job fixing it.” Winston commented, a pitiful look on his face.

And then they fell quiet, as they would usually do.

Only, this time, “Evie,” Winston said.

She looked at him, unprepared to hear him speak.

He looked sad, something entirely not his. “I think I owe you an apology.” He confessed, a small smile on his lips.

Evelyn felt one of her eyebrows raising at his words. “About...?”

“The whole prison incident.”

Then she felt her other brow raise, surprise on her face. “Oh.” She let out, certainly not expecting that. “It’s alright.”

“No, hear me out.” He said, suddenly looking nervous. “I didn’t want you to suffer the consequences, but—“

“Winston,” She called out, making him pay attention. “I said it’s alright.” She added, watching as her words finally registered in his mind. “I get it. I know why you did it and, honestly? I would have done the same. Hell,” She said, a bewildered look on her face as she confessed, “Were our roles to be inverted, I think I wouldn’t have been as merciful as you’ve been with me.”

He smiled. “You say that just to make me feel better; you would have broken me out of prison.”

She brought her mug to her face, hiding her smirk as she said, “Maybe.”

Because a part of her knew he was right, but the other knew she had spoken her truth.

A thought hit her, then, “I don’t know how you managed to get my ass out of trouble, though.”

Winston smirked, his expression so alike hers that no one would their question they were relatives as he said, “The facts that Metroville owed us money and that no one knew the Screenslaver’s real identity made it all easier, to be honest.”

“Sorry you had to burn the debt card to get me out of that mess.”

Winston shrugged. “It’s alright, not like I would have a better opportunity to use it, though.”

Then, silence again. This time, it felt more comfortable, though.

“Still reading that day’s paper?” Winston asked her nonchalantly, finally addressing the fact that she had been reading the same one, an outdated one, for days on end.

Evelyn exhaled slowly, nodding her head. “Yeah, I’m still re-running it inside my brain.”

“You should stop. It can’t be healthy.” He said, concern on his voice.

But Evelyn waved him off. “It isn’t, but I’m a bit stuck on that day, you know?” She sat back, letting her head hit the cushion behind her. “I’m trying to make sense of what could have happened after Robert turned the lights off for me.”

That had been a direct jab at her brother. He gulped, avoiding her eyes. After all, he knew what had happened afterwards.

“The fact that you wouldn’t give me any access to technology, news channels, or at least other day’s newspapers, doesn’t help, my dear Winston.”

He let out a sigh, shaking his head as he did so. “I don’t know what knowing what happened will fix, Evie.”

“It won’t fix anything, but it’ll give the story an ending and, with it, it’ll give me some kind of resolution.” She looked at him with something intense making those blue eyes shine. “I need to know, if only to have some peace of mind, Win. It’s all I ask for, in return for forgiving your little stunt.” She said offhandedly, making him flinch.

He thought about it for a long, hard second, before admitting defeat, his head hanging from his shoulders. “Fine, I guess it’s only fair.”

* * *

 

A medically induced coma.

Helen couldn’t believe it.

Robert had done enough damage that Evelyn had to be forced into a coma.

Bashing her nose in, it was a miracle she was even alive. Sure, the lights had been off just for minutes for the inventor, but she couldn’t shake off the memories of doctors surrounding the woman, their shocked faces at her broken nose, the destroyed bots in her bloodstream, the severe _We should put her under until we know what’s going on_ that the head doctor had barked out...

A whole week had gone by. No news about Evelyn, having Winston opted for the radio silence, so as not to let news about his little sister reach eavesdroppers.

A whole week that Helen hadn’t slept in her own house, her own bed, staying at Edna’s place instead, the designer keeping Robert away, letting only the other two Parr kids visit their mom.

Well, it had been more time without sleeping in her own bed, actually, but one could get the point.

She hadn’t talked to Robert about it, for she had fled the scene immediately after making sure Evelyn was in good hands, Summer arriving in no time after Helen made a quick call to her bar, having only confided in Edna, who had listened to her, pouring her heart out, with a neutral expression on her face, Jack-Jack on her lap, oblivious to his mother’s words but not to her feelings, something Helen had noticed when he floated towards her and hugged her chest with all of his little body’s strength.

“I don’t know what to do, E,” She had said between sniffs, “I feel so _lost_.”

And for the first time since their heart to hearts, Edna didn’t go crazy and give her a motivational speech; she had opted for the alternative, letting herself analyze the situation in silence; Helen’s confession to her, the woman’s confessions to Evelyn, their final battle and all of those things Evelyn had done for her, too...

Edna had taken a drag from her cigarette, smoke escaping her mouth as she talked, “Well, you’ve said it yourself; you love her.” She had eyed Helen, watching as the auburn haired woman’s eyes darted to her cigarette for a second, so she held it out for her, watching as Helen grabbed it and inhaled deeply, closing her eyes in pleasure as the nicotine entered her system, smoke escaping through her nose.

Still, that look of pleasure had abandoned her face as she frowned, “Is it possible to love two people at the same time?”

Edna had huffed a laugh, “Darling, I’m one of those who believe it’s totally possible. What you feel for Evelyn doesn’t necessarily rule out what you feel for Robert,” Amusement had reached her eyes as she saw Helen glare at nothing in particular, “Even if what you feel for him right now is anger.”

“I just can’t believe he did that.”

“He was afraid, confused and trying to protect you.”

Helen had casted an accusatory glance on Edna. “Are you playing the Devil’s Advocate, E?”

“No, darling, I’m not, but as your friend it is my duty to remind you of how things really are, even if you don’t want to hear it,” She had said, taking a moment to adjust her glasses over her nose. “That man loves you and he was only trying to protect you. Sure, he made a mistake, but it was only the means to an—“

“The end doesn’t justify the means to get to it.” Helen had ground out, suddenly, silencing the woman.

“What?”

Helen frowned, “Even if Evelyn was the dangerous one, he could have killed her.” And she had actually sneered as she remembered how it had actually gone and added, “And he punched her out of spite, not self-defense. She was already out of combat.”

“He lets his emotions get the best of him sometimes.”

“And this time, he could have done some serious damage.”

Edna raised her brows. “Could have done... I’d say he did.” Helen looked at her with a bewildered look. “What? I’m just being honest, darling. A broken nose that lead to a coma? That’s some serious business, right there. And you should be thankful no brain damage came to her whatsoever.”

Helen had sighed as she took another drag from the cigarette and handed it back to Edna, who accepted it immediately.

She kept running through that conversation over and over again. Edna had it wrong; Evelyn hadn’t gotten knocked out cold for a whole week; Doctors kept her drugged up due to the pain she was in and the fact that they had to run test after test on her, fear for those bots and what they could mean to her health making them extra careful.

Helen was currently taking a long bath, letting the bubbles wash away her trouble, only to find out they couldn’t actually do that.

They couldn’t wash away the guilt, nor the desire to have Evelyn by her side.

_Evelyn._ Not Robert.

She sighed as she rested her head against the towel she had placed behind herself, just to support her.

Everything had happened in such a rush; after Robert punched Evelyn, she had pulled him away from her, commanding Voyd to teleport her away from him, near her. Then, she called Summer, who reached them before the police _and_ the medics, soothing the groaning Evelyn, getting her nose in place, the sickening sound of Evelyn’s bones crunching and her screams of pain still playing on loop on her mind.

Then, the medics, their handling of Evelyn, Winston appearing on a helicopter and veiling it all before the media could get a sniff of it—

_No._

She frowned at the ceiling.

She had a deal with Evelyn and, despite it all, the woman had fulfilled her part of the deal.

She might at well fulfill hers.

So Helen got out of the tub, quickly drying up as she decided there was something she had to do.

* * *

 

Evelyn frowned. “Just how much morphine did doctors waste on me?”

“Enough to put an elephant to sleep, Evie.” Winston commented, taking a small sip from his coffee.

Evelyn’s brows reached her hairline. “And I didn’t get to enjoy it.”

He chuckled, shaking his head. “No, you didn’t.” A beat, then, “Thank Summer, by the way. She made sure your nose got back in place. Doctors wouldn’t have been able to fix it that well if it weren’t for her little helping hand.”

Evelyn nodded, still unfocused, “Will do, thank you, Win.” And then she gulped, knowing full well this was an issue he didn’t want to touch, but, “What about Helen?”

He tried to hide his grimace. “What about her?”

Evelyn glared at him. “Winston.”

He sighed once more.

"Fine."

He turned on the TV.

* * *

 

A second and even a third week had gone by. _Some_ news about Evelyn. Enough to let her know she could sleep better at night.

A second and even a third week in which Elastigirl was AWOL, though.

All of the Incredible family was missing in action, except for Mr. Incredible.

Voyd wasn’t anywhere to be found, either. Nor Screech, He-Lectrix, Krushauer…

Not even Frozone.

No one but Robert Parr, Mr. Incredible, taking over the city, taking care of its’ citizens.

But the city was big enough, problematic enough that he couldn’t do it alone.

So crime rates began to climb up and people slowly started to lose hope. Only a week was necessary to see the difference between a city of martyrs and a city of heathens.

But then, one day, she reappeared, her signature red suit on, DevTech cameras all around her, following her closely.

She made it to the City’s Hall, aware of how all eyes were on her, all TV channels showing her image, all ears ready to listen to whatever she had to say.

Somehow, they all knew this was her doing; the lack of superheroes keeping their streets safe.

So Elastigirl cleared her throat, ignoring the eyes of the man she had forced to help her, the other side of the Deavor coin.

“Citizens of Metroville, this is Elastigirl speaking to you with an important announcement to make.” She had begun, feeling as the crowd gathered around her, the silence being such that she felt it deafening her.

“You’ve felt, first hand, the absence of Supers around these streets. The absence of the fury-less wind that wipes the darkness from the city, the rain which comes and cleans the streets.” She said, closing her eyes, quoting Rogue. “You’ve felt what this city should actually feel like.”

She puffed her chest out, letting it be filled with a certain determination. “You’ve felt what your passiveness can do to you, how it can harm you, how living without looking at the other in the eye, offering a helping hand, being a friend instead of a stranger, can affect you and your lifestyle. How hopeless we can feel, how dangerous it can be, when no one looks out for you.”

“You’ve also seen how it is for us, when the city’s too big for our hands and we can’t protect you all.” She added, remembering her husband’s reluctance to join her cause. “You’ve seen how it’s actually impossible for us, even for the most _Incredible_ of us, to protect you all. Because we’re just a handful, and you are thousands and thousands.”

“This is not revenge, vengeance, me turning my back on you, nor anything like that. This is us, the Supers, trying to teach you all a lesson, trying to make you all open your eyes, wake up, see life for what it is.”

She swallowed a lump that had formed around her throat. “Life is not fair. Some of us are gifted, some of you are not. Some of you wish you were gifted, while some of us wish we weren’t. Some are proud, some are not, but it all takes me back to my main belief; Life is never fair. Not for you, my dearest people, not for me, a mother of three with a Super job. Not for the real villain, not for the real heroine.” She commented, unwilling to say more about the subject, leaving it hanging in the air like the sword of Damocles, ready to strike her neck and end her life.

“Life will never be fair but, together, we can make it a bit better. Most Supers took these weeks off because _I_ asked them to, for I wanted to prove a point to you, as citizens of Metroville.” She said, a stern look in her eye as she looked in to the camera. “This is me, Elastigirl, asking you to look out for one another, to make this world the fairest it can be, while we take care of the worst part, that one that you, as non-Supers, cannot face. We will take the responsibility our abilities place upon our shoulders, but you should never forget the cross you carry as part of humanity. Make this place better, leave a better world for those who are to come, don’t sit back and let somebody else do the job, because you’ve seen, you’ve felt, you’ve _experienced_ what it feels like when that one thing that you take for granted is gone.”

And there was a certain emotion in her eye as she added, “I would know about it.”

And just like she appeared, Elastigirl turned around and left, a million questions left unanswered behind her.

* * *

 

Evelyn watched the screen, watched _her_ Helen Parr, _her_ Helen Truax, _her_ Elastigirl, telling the people to stop that madness they had all fed for years on end.

She was certain her jaw had hit the ground.

“She…” Evelyn frowned, shaking her head. “She did it.” She said, surprised at how Elastigirl had, in fact, fulfilled her part, too.

Winston nodded. “She told me it was her deal with you.”

“And you let her do it. You _helped_ her do it.” He nodded again. “Why?” She asked him, knowing it went against everything he had ever fought for.

“It was the least I could do for the woman responsible of ensuring my little sister stayed alive. Besides, you _did_ save all of the Supers, almost singlehandedly.” He said, smirking.

So Evelyn, doing something uncharacteristic for her, stood up, moved towards him and hugged him tight.

“Thank you,” She whispered, extremely grateful with her brother, for she knew how hard it must have been for him.

He reciprocated the hug, “You don’t have to thank me.”

So Evelyn pulled away, sitting down next to him, again. “Was it hard for you to agree to it?”

He shook his head. “I couldn’t say no to Elastigirl.”

“Helen.”

“Helen.”

Evelyn smirked.

“Besides,” He added, “Summer helped her convince me, so I _really_ couldn’t say no.”

Evelyn chuckled. “I should visit her.”

“When we’re back in Metroville, Evie. For now, enjoy the beach.”

“Will try.”

* * *

 

Seven weeks since the incident. Seven weeks since she had to fix Evelyn’s nose with her own bare hands.

Summer was polishing a glass when she saw the brunette enter the bar, her eyes sporting that shine of them as she smirked.

“Hello, Summer.” She said.

The woman laughed wholeheartedly. “Winter Queen, I’m so glad to see nothing can kill you.”

Evelyn took her usual seat. “Well, that must be true. I mean, I think nobody attempted to kill me so many times _and_ failed this much.”

“Either Helen’s very bad at her job, or you’re very good at surviving.”

Evelyn shrugged. “Probably a bit of both.”

Summer grabbed a bottle of whiskey and was about to pour two glasses, when, “Actually, I’m here to see you and that’s it, Summer. No alcohol for me, today.”

The woman gave Evelyn a shocked expression. “Who are you and what did you do to my Evie?”

Evelyn laughed, shaking her head. “It’s just that I’ve been drugged for so long, I’d rather give my body a break, you know?”

Summer chuckled, nodding in agreement. “You’re wise, Deavor.”

“The wisest of them all.”

Still, Summer poured herself one.

“What happened with Rogue?” Evelyn asked her, going straight to the point, knowing the woman was the one left in charge of the blonde, after Winston washed his hands of it.

Summer raised a brow. “I’m using her as my slave. Literally.” She said, taking a small sip from her glass, watching as Evelyn stared at her, silently gasping.

“Savage.”

“It’s what she deserves, after all the shit she puts everyone who crosses paths with her through.”

Evelyn contemplated that for a bit, then nodded, “Can’t argue with that logic, to be honest.”

“I’m using her to clean the kitchen and the restrooms. I’m still feeding her and letting her sleep and all that basic necessities shit.” She explained.

“So, better than your typical slave.”

“Better than what she actually deserves.”

“Come on, have some mercy for the woman.” She watched as Summer raised a brow, “Okay, maybe not.” She said, chuckling as Summer nodded in agreement and took another sip.

“I’ll drink to that.”

“That I can see.”

“Still trying not to drink or should I pour you one, too?”

“Still strong, thank you anyways.”

“Anytime.” Another sip. “What do you want to do with her?”

Evelyn frowned, seriousness over her features as she casually stated, “There’s no way to reform her, so we either execute her or we keep her enslaved.”

“That’s brutal.”

A shrug. “Do you have a better idea? She’s a psychopath, even worse than I am.”

Summer sighed. “I still _can’t_ believe you were telling me the truth that day, when you told me you had been in prison.”

Evelyn looked at her, a bored expression on her face. “When did I ever lie to you, Summer?”

“Never, apparently.”

“Exactly.”

“So? What will we do?” She asked once more.

Evelyn sighed. What could they do about the blonde demon that was currently scrubbing a toilet?

_She never wanted to be a Super._

She raised a brow. “Well, I’ve got an idea, but it’s going to take me some time.”

Brown eyes made an appearance inside her head.

“And I’ve got another, more important issue to take care of.” She said as she got ready, taking a small device out of her pocket.

* * *

 

Elastigirl was patrolling the streets in silence, no one to keep her company. No voice on her ear, no Super-ally to her side.

She saw what seemed to be speeding car and followed it, taking each turn it took, not wishing to lose it, following it street after street, corner after corner until—

It had lead her to the DevTech skyscraper.

It had entered through Evelyn’s secret passageway.

Elastigirl landed on the ground, making it into the building, ignoring her thundering heart, trying to focus on the task at hand, for someone could be breaking into Evelyn’s laboratory without her permission.

She felt stupid as she entered and realized the car she had been following around was the Incredibile, which had driven itself there, being on autopilot.

_Wait. It’s on autopilot._

She looked around.

There was no one there.

She entered the inner chamber, trying not to think of all the things that had happened in there—

The screen around her turned on.

Her breath hitched as she saw Evelyn being projected all around her.

_“Hello, Helen.”_ The picture said, a smile, a _genuine_ smile on her lips. _“Welcome to my little trap.”_

Despite the woman’s words, Helen smiled as she took off her mask, being flooded by several emotions.

_“Sorry to bring you here like this, but it was the only way I could ensure you’d be the only one seeing this, without any kind of interruption, whether it’s your husband breaking my nose or duty calling you.”_

She flinched at that.

_“I’m joking, no grudges are hold by my side.”_

She raised a brow at that.

_“Seriously.”_

She smirked.

_“I just wanted to let you know I’m alive and well. I won’t be coming back to Metroville, though. Instead, I’ll move to New Urbem, where I’ll stay from now on. I know, it sucks, but it was part of a deal I made with Winston; I got my freedom back, but only if it came accompanied by a fresh start, so I’ll be working for DevTech over there.”_

The image of Evelyn moved around as the woman did so; it was only then that Helen noticed she had recorded the message in Summer’s End, the cozy place serving as background, warm sounds of laughter floating around the woman.

Still, Helen was too busy staring into those blue eyes of hers.

_“Summer says hi, by the way.”_ Evelyn said, making Helen laugh as Summer’s head popped into the image, a waving hand coming with it, before Evelyn pushed her out of the frame again. _“I dropped by just to greet her, but I guess I could leave a little message for you, too.”_

Evelyn sighed. _“I wanted to let you know, too, that I’ll take good care of Rogue; I’ve enrolled in New Urbem’s University of Biological Studies, where I’ll try to find a way to subtract her Super-abilities from her DNA. Sounds awesome, but it promises thousands upon thousands of headaches and I don’t know how ready I am to finally face my failed career as a scientist, you know?”_ She asked with a wink. _“In case I can’t find a cure for her, we’ll have to get rid of her, old school. I know, it’s kind of sadistic and so not my style,”_ She tried not to laugh at the Inventor’s dark humor, the sarcasm on her voice. _“But it’s the only way we can make sure she won’t be making trouble like that anymore.”_

And the seriousness to Evelyn’s face disappeared as she smirked that wolfish smirk of hers and said, _“After all, this is all the means to an end, isn’t it? Ensure the city’s safety. The World’s safety, if we consider just how far Rogue could go if she was let loose once more. In the meantime, she’ll be cleaning toilets for Summer, if you want to pay her a visit.”_

And that mischievous look disappeared as a certain softness took over her face when she finally said, _“I also saw what you did. I can never thank you enough, Helen. And I can never apologize enough for what I’ve done to you.”_

And Helen immediately knew she was talking about being her lover.

_“I can’t say I regret it, though. I don’t regret a minute, not even a second. Not even a breath.”_

She bit her lip at that. There was something up with Evelyn.

_“I think you know why I don’t regret it, already.”_

She didn’t dare breath.

_“I’ll tell you anyway.”_

She didn’t dare blink.

Evelyn smiled. “ _I’m certain what I feel for you may be love, Helen Truax. Again, I apologize for dropping this on you in such a way, but I guess it’s the best. It won’t let you do anything stupid you might regret later and it won’t let me do anything stupid that might make you feel bad afterwards.”_

Evelyn looked to a side, “ _Summer’s about to close, so I guess I should leave. Guess this is farewell, Helen. A part of me hopes to hear from you soon, but the clever side of me knows you should never see me again, so this is it. Goodbye.”_

And, with a click, Evelyn was gone.

Helen’s eyes fell from the screen to Evelyn’s desk.

Her ring was there.

She picked it up. It didn't belong there.

She was wondering if it belonged to her, though.

* * *

 

A whole year had gone by.

Evelyn was sipping on her coffee, sitting inside some cozy coffee shop, happy to be on her own, not needing any other company for the moment.

She was making progress on her papers. She might have a _cure_ for Rogue.

_Well, a cure. As if her powers were an illness._

_But then again, if she views them as such, why wouldn’t they be just that?_

She was surprised with herself, both for the fact that she was actually a pretty damn good scientist and the fact that she was going to _help_ Rogue.

She chuckled, remembering that one time Helen had suggested she sided with the blonde.

_I guess you were right in the end, Truax. I did end up helping her, just not in the way you thought I would._

She missed the auburn haired woman. She wondered how she’d be, what she thought of, what she’d be doing.

If she missed her just as badly.

_Focus, Evelyn._

She also missed Summer. She didn’t miss Winston, though; he visited her pretty often.

She looked out through the window, absentmindedly trying to watch the city when a figure on the other side of it stole her attention.

Her breath caught on her throat as she realized it was an all too familiar woman, her auburn hair free around her face, her brown eyes hidden behind sunglasses, smiling at her, slowly making her way towards the coffee shop’s entrance.

Evelyn couldn’t move from her seat, couldn’t do anything but stare, her eyes going over the other woman’s figure.

 A smile crept up her lips.

She watched the woman as she made her way directly towards her, not wasting time in ordering something.

"Hello,  _Elastigirl."_ Evelyn said lowly, only for the other woman's ears to hear.

She smiled back, "It's Helen, actually." She said, offering Evelyn her  _left_ hand.

Evelyn eyed her curiously. "Helen, I'll have you know you actually greet people with your right..." She trailed off as her eyes scanned those slender fingers.

There was no golden ring around any of them.

So she took that hand with hers,

"Pleased to meet you, Helen," She said, playing along. "My name's Evelyn."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a wild ride! Hope you've enjoyed. I know I have, both writing it and reading what you had to say about it.
> 
> I love you all, peeps.

**Author's Note:**

> Hi <3 I'm Mili, mililap on the internet (tumblr, discord, you name it), and I just couldn't help my gay heart. I had to write something about them.  
> So this is me, venting my gayness. Let me know what you think!


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